Guides for families
Plain-language guides for families looking out for an older parent or grandparent: how phone scams and robocalls reach older adults and what actually helps, how the grandparent scam works, how medication reminder calls fit into a routine, and how the ways to screen a parent's calls compare. Every guide is sourced from official agencies such as the FTC, the FBI and the FCC, and links to them.
The guides
- How to protect an elderly parent from phone scamsThe scams to know, the warning signs, family rules that work, and what to do in the first hours after a scam.
- The grandparent scam: how it works and what to doFake emergencies and cloned voices, and why a family code word and a call back on a known number help.
- Why seniors get so many robocalls, and what helpsWhat the Do Not Call Registry and carrier filters can and can't do, and what call screening adds.
- Medication reminder calls for aging parentsHow reminder calls work, and when they help more than pill organizers, alarms and apps.
- Ways to screen a parent's calls, comparedBuilt-in phone features, carrier tools, apps, landline call blockers and Protect & Assist, side by side.
If a scam call is happening right now
- Hang up. It isn't rude. The FCC's advice is to hang up right away if someone asks for money or personal information.
- Don't press anything or confirm any details, not a button, not a code, not "yes, that's my account".
- Call the real person or company back on a number you already have, and tell a family member what happened.
- If someone is in danger, call 911.
If money has already gone out, call the bank or payment company first, then follow the steps in what to do after a scam.
Why we wrote them
Older adults report losing more per scam than younger adults, according to the FTC, and people 80 and older report far higher losses from scams that start with a phone call than from any other kind of contact. These are the figures behind the guides:
- $7.7 billionreported lost by people 60 and older in 2025, in 201,266 complaints to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center
- 37%more complaints from people 60 and older than in 2024, with losses up 59% (IC3)
- $3,000the median loss older adults reported to the FTC when a scam started with a phone call in 2025
Each guide gives practical steps you can take today, most of them free, and says plainly what Protect & Assist does and doesn't do where it comes up.
Common questions
Who writes these guides?
The Protect & Assist team, a US company that makes call screening and care tools for families of older adults. We check each fact against an official source, link to it, and show the month each guide was last updated.
Are these guides only for Protect & Assist customers?
No. They are free for anyone, and most of the steps use free tools from the phone, the carrier and government agencies.
Where can a family get help after a scam?
Call the bank or payment company first, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. The National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-372-8311, helps people 60 and older and their families report fraud, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.
Do these guides replace a professional's advice?
No. They are general information for families. For decisions about money, the law or medicines, talk with the bank, a lawyer, the doctor or the pharmacist.
Still have a question?
Sources
- 2025 IC3 Annual Report (Elder Fraud: complaints filed by people 60 and older), FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), April 2026.
- Elder Fraud, FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), checked October 2026.
- Protecting Older Consumers 2025-2026: A Report of the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Trade Commission, October 19, 2026.
- What To Do if You Were Scammed, FTC Consumer Advice, June 2026.
- National Elder Fraud Hotline, Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, checked October 2026.
We read every source on its publisher's site in October 2026. Figures are the latest each publisher had released.