Opinion: They each lost almost US$80,000. How to avoid becoming the next scam victim

The FBI's Internet Crime Center reported in May that 88,000 victims over the age of 60 lost US$3.1bil (RM14.50bil) in 2022, an 84% increase from the previous year. (Losses to victims of all ages topped US$10bil/RM46.76bil.) And authorities say much of elder abuse doesn't get reported, so the actual total could be far greater. — Dreamstime/TNS

Neal checked his email one day and saw that he was being charged several hundred dollars for a software subscription he didn't want.

The 79-year-old Brentwood retiree called the phone number in the email and allowed a stranger to take remote access of his computer to "fix" the problem. Within 24 hours in late January, two wire transfers from Neal's Los Angeles bank account ended up in Hong Kong, with Neal having been duped into believing the payments were to correct accounting errors and make him whole.