Scams Are Getting Smarter in 2026: 5 Habits to Help Protect Your Retirement

The leaves are changing. Sweaters are coming out of closets. Ghosts and monsters are popping up in neighborhood yards.

And the Social Security Administration is about to announce the cost-of-living adjustment for 2027.

That's why October can be one of the spookiest – and most dangerous – months for seniors.

Any time the government makes major announcements about Social Security or Medicare, fraudsters spring into action: texts, phone calls, emails, social media messages, "warning" seniors that they need to "activate" their benefits or make an "emergency" transfer to avoid theft.

Another group of scammers, knowing that many seniors are preparing for a lonely holiday season, offer false promises of companionship ... "If you can just send money to help me pay the rent this month."

The financial toll of these crimes is heartbreaking. According to the FBI, folks 60 and older reported almost $8 billion in losses to scams in 2025 – a 60% increase from the previous year.

On today's show, we discuss how fraudsters try to bypass logic by targeting emotions and review some actionable steps you can take to protect yourself from the latest scams.

The Romance Scam

Today, the most devastating financial crimes rarely start with a poorly spelled email from a "Nigerian Prince." They are often meticulous, multiyear manipulations with a very personal touch.

Liza Likins is a singer who backed up Stevie Nicks and toured with Fleetwood Mac. She had a $758,000 nest egg and a home in Las Vegas worth over $600,000.

After her husband died, Liza started receiving Facebook messages from "Donald," who claimed to be an Australian gold miner. Over the next two years, the scammer built a relationship that Liza thought was real. And since “Donald” claimed to be working at a remote location, he had a built-in excuse for why he couldn't video chat or meet in person.

The financial requests escalated slowly. First, "Donald" asked for $1,000 to help him with internet access. Later, he sent Liza a picture of gold bars in a safe and said he needed $140,000 to ship the fortune to her. Eventually, he claimed he had been arrested and needed bail money.

The man in the photos turned out to be a spiritual advisor living in Germany, who says at least 100 women have contacted him looking for "Donald." The scammer copied his photo from social media and used it in his cons.

But by the time Liza figured out what was going on, she had sold her home and lost everything.

These "romance scams" work because they often fill a real emotional void. Seniors who have recently lost someone or who are living alone can be especially susceptible. Some romance scam victims have even told authorities that they look back fondly on the fake relationship because the money they lost was worth the human connection they found.

Weaponized Panic

While romance scams slowly bleed a victim's bank account as the "relationship" progresses, other scammers try to convince folks that if they don't act immediately, they could miss out on the financial opportunity of a lifetime.

Or face serious trouble.

Another disturbing situation arose when a woman was targeted via social media by a scammer who pretended to operate an options trading platform built to capitalize on unrest in the Middle East.

She opened an account on the phony site, deposited $5,000, watched her balance grow to $7,500 ...

And then she received an alert that by trading on this platform she had violated an SEC rule. The FBI had opened an investigation against her, and she needed to wire $50,000 for a retainer so that attorneys could clear her name.

So, she did.

And when her bank's security team flagged the transaction as suspicious, she overrode her bank's safeguards and sent the money anyway.

That's how powerful FOMO and outright fear can be. Once panic sets in, emotion can override common sense, especially when we think money or the law are involved.

5 Habits to Help Protect Your Retirement

It probably won’t take you more than an afternoon to put these protections in place:

1. Lock Down Your Digital Footprint by:

• • • Setting your social media accounts to private.
    • Using complex passphrases instead of simple passwords or numbers (like your middle name or birthday).
    • Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) on all accounts and devices.
    • Autoblock calls and texts from unknown numbers.

2. Hang-Up, Call Back. It's very rare that a bank or government agency will call, email, or text you and ask for sensitive information. If you receive communication asking for an account number, or your Social Security number, or anything else that sounds fishy, hang up the phone or delete that message. Then, call a trusted number at your financial institution to see if there are any problems with your accounts. 

3. Pause Before You Act. Don't let manufactured stress cloud your judgment. There's almost no scenario where you need to send money to anyone, right now, or else. If you are feeling that kind of pressure, put down your phone, step away from the computer, and call a trusted loved one or your advisor.

4. Establish a Family Password. Scammers can use AI to spoof voices, photos, and even video. But your panicked "grandchild" calling you from the hospital, begging you to wire money, won't know your family's secret password. Have all your loved ones agree on a word you will provide over the phone or text in a legitimate emergency, and store that word in a physical notebook or folder that can't be hacked.

5. Name a Trusted Contact on Your Financial Accounts. This gives your advisor or a financial institution someone else to call if they notice unusual transfer requests, signs of cognitive decline, or evidence of fraud.

I wish that adopting these best practices was all it took to protect you and your loved ones from scammers. But the scary truth is that as AI and other technologies continue to advance, fraudsters are going to have more powerful and more persuasive tools at their disposal. And as more of our lives and finances go digital, one wrong click or swipe will cost some folks everything.

If you're working with Keen Wealth, you can feel confident that your data and your money are safe. And we will continue to use our blogs, podcasts, social media, and educational events to alert our audience to the latest threats and the most effective ways to safeguard your retirement. 

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About Bill

Bill Keen is a financial advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he focuses on providing personalized retirement planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. With a passion for educating others, Bill regularly blogs about retirement planning, hosts the podcast Keen on Retirement, and has contributed to Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and other publications. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Bill and his team work with clients throughout the greater Kansas City area and across the nation. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.keenwealthadvisors.com.

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