Aging & Social Change: Fourteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Older adults continue to have an interest in dating well into old age. A recent study found that 14% of unmarried adults ages 57-85 were in dating relationships. Romance fraud is a method used by offenders where they use the perception of a legitimate relationship in order to manipulate and exploit the victim. The increased usage of social media, social networking, and online dating websites has helped to increase the ability of offenders to communicate with the targeted potential victims. According to the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging of the 10 most reported scams of older adults, romance scams were ranked fourth but were ranked first in costliness at 83.7 million dollars. This workshop provides training on how to help prevent romance scams, and the level of resources available for help with legal, medical, social, and family support.