Boston Elder Fraud Topped $12 Million in 2024, Police Tell City Council Panel

BOSTON -- February 13, 2025, Boston seniors lost more than $12 million to fraud in 2024, police told a City Council panel Thursday. Deputy Superintendent Gerald Cahill of the Boston Police Bureau of Intelligence Analysis presented the figure, limited to reported cases only, at a hearing of the Committee on Strong Women, Families, and Communities, chaired by Councilor Erin J. Murphy and co-sponsored by Councilors Edward M. Flynn and Julia M. Mejia. Consumer advocate Sebastian Lachance of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs reported recovering just under $260,800 for residents in fiscal year 2023-2024 and more than $100,000 so far this fiscal year across roughly 605 closed cases. AT&T's Edmund Donnelly described a free digital-literacy program that has reached an estimated 500 Boston seniors across 17 events in seven districts, with an 18th event set for March 13 in Mattapan. Cahill warned that artificial intelligence is expected to act as a "force multiplier" for scammers going forward, and the department has identified roughly 40 bitcoin ATMs citywide where scam-alert flyers are now being posted.