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RSVP Monthly Resource
This month we are sharing excerpts from "15 Ways to Protect Yourself From Fraud", from the AARP website, last updated May 14, 2026. Incidents of fraud have exploded, with older adults suffering the greatest financial impact from fraud last year, according to the FBI’s 2025 IC3 Annual Report. Americans age 60 and older reported losses of $7.7 billion — about a 60 percent increase from 2024. And yet these figures don’t represent fraud’s real impact: In December 2025, the FTC reported that losses in a single year may have reached $196 billion when accounting for underreporting. But there are ways to protect yourself, including staying up on the latest schemes and following the advice listed below.
3. Prevent garbage theft
Shred any papers that contain private information (financial statements, bills, shipping receipts) before putting them out for pickup to avoid identity theft. Don’t want to invest in a good cross-cut shredder? Many communities have shredding events or permanent drop-off sites. Get in the habit of dropping off your accumulated documents once every few months.
10. Protect your email accounts
Actively designate unsolicited and unwanted email that shows up in your inbox as spam, so future emails from that site get blocked. Do not open file attachments in emails from businesses or people you don’t trust completely. Malware is often planted via email attachments.
13. Don’t pay for anything in gift cards, cryptocurrency or gold
It’s best to pay with a credit card, which can protect you from all sorts of scams — including gift card scams. Criminals prefer untraceable methods of payment that are hard to reverse, so will ask for gift cards, cryptocurrency, gold bars, or prepaid debit cards. If someone — especially a stranger — asks for payment or debt settlement using one of these payment methods, think twice.
15. Change the way you think
Learn how to not engage. You are under no obligation in these modern times to respond to calls, emails or texts from strangers — especially given that so many of them are fraudulent. One option: Open your iPhone’s contact list and add your family, friends, doctors and other important numbers. Then go into your phone settings and turn on the setting for "silence unknown callers." This will send any caller who isn't in your contacts list directly to voicemail.
Learn to say no. Sometimes a caller will get through. Get tough: Say, “I do not do business over the phone. Goodbye.” Then hang up without remorse. Trust your instincts. If something doesn’t sound right, run it by someone you trust and take extra time to think about it.
Read the entire article HERE.
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