Senior Safety and Government Policy

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is warning consumers about the "Grandparent Scam," a fraudulent scheme where scammers pose as family members in distress to trick elderly individuals into sending money.

The warning comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an indictment against 25 Canadian nationals accused of defrauding elderly victims in over 40 U.S. states. The scammers impersonated grandchildren, claiming to be in legal trouble and in need of immediate financial assistance.

How the scam works

According to the DOJ indictment, between 2021 and June 2024, fraudsters called elderly victims pretending to be their grandchild in jail following a car accident. Other scammers pretended to be attorneys, warning victims that a “gag order” prevented them from discussing the case with anyone. Victims were then instructed to provide bail money to a fake bail bondsman, who collected cash in person.

The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau warns that these scams are becoming more sophisticated. Scammers use:

• Spoofed phone numbers to appear legitimate.
• Stolen social media details to make the story seem real.
• High-pressure tactics to demand fast action.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) voice cloning to imitate family members' voices.

How to protect yourself

The FCC urges consumers to take these steps to avoid falling victim:

1. Verify the call. Hang up and call the family member directly.
2. Talk to someone you trust before sending money.
3. Beware of cloned voices and fake phone numbers.
4. Governments do not use scare tactics or demand payments via gift cards, money orders, or mobile payment apps.
5. Do not provide money or personal details to unknown callers.
6. Report scams to the FCC: FCC Consumer Complaint Center

Scrub your social media

Besides the steps above, one of the most effective things an older person can do is to scrub their social media accounts. Take down or edit anything that includes the names of close family members.

There are people who do nothing but scan Facebook and other sites searching for older people with family photos. They then take down the names and sell them on the dark web.

It's OK, though not great, to have a few family photos but skip the names, in other words. 

Growing concerns over AI

With AI-driven voice cloning, scammers can now mimic a loved one's voice, making fraud attempts even more convincing. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned that criminals are using AI technology to make phone scams more realistic.

What’s next?

The DOJ’s indictment marks a significant effort to hold fraudsters accountable, but authorities urge continued vigilance. If you or a loved one receive a suspicious call, take immediate steps to verify the information and report the incident.

By staying informed and cautious, consumers can protect themselves and their families from falling victim to these scams.

If you’ve been searching for the Fountain of Youth, you might want to take a look at a study published in the journal Aging. Researchers report that six women ranging in age from 46 to 65 were able to turn back the clock, with most reducing their biological age by several years.

How did they do it? Researchers say the women completed a methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program designed to impact DNA methylation and measures of biological aging. 

According to the National Cancer Institute, DNA methylation is a chemical reaction in the body in which a small molecule called a methyl group gets added to DNA, proteins, or other molecules.

The addition of methyl groups can affect how some molecules act in the body. For example, methylation of the DNA sequence of a gene may turn the gene off so it does not make a protein.

The intervention consisted of an eight-week program that included diet, sleep, exercise and relaxation guidance, supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients and nutritional coaching. 

“At the end of the eight-week period, five of the six participants exhibited a biological age reduction of between 1.22 and 11.01 years from their baseline biological age,” the authors wrote.

It’s a health issue

While consumers spend millions of dollars each year on products to make them look younger, the researchers say their findings go well beyond cosmetics. They say it could vastly improve health.

They note that six in ten adults in the U.S. have at least one chronic disease and four in ten adults have two or more. Chronic diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and they put a significant burden on the healthcare system.

“Aging itself has been identified as a common driver of chronic diseases and an important target for extending human healthspan,” they wrote. “It has also been estimated that if we improve our collective healthspan by just one year the calculated savings are worth $38 trillion dollars, and if by 10 years those savings jump to $367 trillion dollars.”

What they did

Participants in the program consumed the following food each day:

• 2 cups, dark leafy greens

• 2 cups cruciferous vegetables

• 3 cups of colorful vegetables

• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

• ¼ cup sunflower seeds

• 2 servings methylation adaptogens

• 1 to 2 beets

• Liver or liver supplement (three, 3-ounce servings per week)

• 1 serving egg (5-10 per week)

• Probiotics (2 capsules)

• Greens powder

Healthy daily routine:

• I exercised for at least 30 minutes

• I practiced breathing exercises twice

• I slept at least 7 hours

• I fasted 12 hours after my meal

• I drank eight cups of water each day

Before embarking on any significant change to diet or exercise routines it is a good idea to discuss it with your healthcare provider.

A new study conducted by researchers from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health explored how consumers’ family size may affect their cognitive function in later life. According to the findings, having three or more kids can have a negative impact on cognition and longevity when compared to having two children. 

“Understanding the factors that contribute to optimal late-life cognition is essential for ensuring successful aging at the individual and societal levels – particularly in Europe, where family sizes have shrunk and populations are aging rapidly,” said researcher Vegard Skirbekk, Ph.D. 

“For individuals, late-life cognitive health is essential for maintaining independence and being socially active and productive in late life,” said researcher Eric Bonsang, Ph.D. “For societies, ensuring the cognitive health of the older population is essential for extending work lives and reducing health care costs and care needs.” 

Having more kids may affect long-term brain health

For the study, the researchers analyzed responses to the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Responses came from consumers living in 20 regions across Europe, and they were all at least 65 years old with a minimum of two children. 

The researchers identified a link between having more kids and having poor cognition in later life, which held up for both men and women. The team identified three major ways that having more than three kids can negatively affect cognitive function:

• The more kids that consumers have, the greater their financial burden. Over time, this can lower the standard of living and increase stress, which can lead to poor cognition. 

• Having to provide for more family members often means that consumers need to work later in life. Being involved in the labor market later than anticipated can also negatively affect cognitive health. 

• Parents with more than three kids may have higher stress levels, which affects how they spend their free time. They have less time to do things that are relaxing or that can improve their cognitive health, which can have negative long-term effects. 

“The negative effect of having three or more children on cognitive function is not negligible, it is equivalent to 6.2 years of aging,” said Dr. Bonsang. 

On a positive note, the researchers learned that having more kids can mitigate some of the cognitive risks related to social isolation. When consumers have more kids, they’re likely to be more socially engaged.

Based on these findings, the researchers hope more work is done in this area to better understand how the size of consumers’ families can impact their long-term cognitive function. 

“Given the magnitude of the effect, future studies on late-life cognition should also examine fertility as a prognosticator alongside more commonly researched predictors, such as education, occupational experiences, physical exercise, and mental and physical health,” said Dr. Skirbekk. “In addition, future studies should address the potential effects of childlessness or having one child on late-life cognition. We also need more information on the types of interactions, supports, and conflicts that occur between parents and children, which may influence cognitive outcomes.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Psychological Association explored how consumers' personality traits may affect their cognitive function later in life. 

According to their findings, those who are moodier may be more likely to struggle with cognitive impairment. However, those who have more self-discipline may be less likely to struggle cognitively. 

“Personality traits reflect relatively enduring patterns of thinking and behaving, which may cumulatively affect engagement in healthy and unhealthy behaviors and thought patterns across the lifespan,” said researcher Tomiko Yoneda, Ph.D. “The accumulation of lifelong experiences may then contribute to susceptibility of particular diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, or contribute to individual differences in the ability to withstand age-related neurological changes.” 

The link between personality and cognition

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 2,000 people enrolled in the Rush Memory and Aging Project. The participants began the study in 1997 and completed assessments of their cognitive abilities annually. 

The researchers learned that participants’ personalities played a role in their long-term cognitive function. Cognitive impairment was less likely for those who scored higher on traits consistent with conscientiousness and lower on traits related to neuroticism; participants with low conscientiousness scores and higher neuroticism scores were more likely to experience cognitive impairment. 

“Scoring approximately six more points on a conscientiousness scale ranging from 0 to 48 was associated with a 22% decreased risk of transitioning from normal cognitive functioning to mild cognitive impairment,” said Yoneda. “Additionally, scoring approximately seven more points on a neuroticism scale of 0 to 48 was associated with a 12% increased risk of transition.” 

The researchers also learned that those who scored higher on measures of extraversion were more likely to delay the onset of cognitive impairment by about one year. On the other hand, those who had higher levels of neuroticism were found to have one less year of healthy cognitive function. 

Moving forward, the researchers plan to do more work in this area to test how more of the main personality traits may impact consumers’ cognitive function in older age. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Georgia explored how exercise can help keep consumers’ brains sharp into older age. According to the findings, regular physical activity may help older consumers retain their cognitive abilities in later life. 

“This finding isn’t saying, ‘If you’re older, you need to go out there and start running marathons,’” said researcher Marissa Gogniat. “This is saying if you get more steps, if you’re moving around your environment a little bit more, that can be helpful to your brain health and keep you more independent as you age.” 

Exercise changes the brain

The researchers had 51 older adults participate in the study. The group participated in a six-minute walking test to assess their fitness. They wore monitors that tracked their physical activity, including how many steps they took each day. The participants also underwent MRIs and completed cognitive assessments to evaluate their abilities. 

The researchers identified a clear link between physical activity and cognitive abilities. They learned that those who were the most active had the strongest executive functioning skills. This translates to better memory, attention, flexible thinking, and self-control, among other important skills. 

“We’ve always been told it’s good to exercise, but I think this is some evidence that exercise can actually change your brain,” said Gogniat. “And that impacts the way you’re able to function in your daily life.” 

Age also changes the brain

The researchers explained that different networks in the brain are responsible for resting versus physical activity, though both aren’t activated at the same time. However, as the body ages, it becomes more difficult for these networks to carry out tasks like remembering phone numbers or birthdays. The study findings are important because they show that regular physical activity may prevent this natural decline in cognitive abilities. 

“This paper is exciting because it gives us some evidence that when people whose brain networks aren’t functioning optimally engage in physical activity, we see improvement in their executive function and their independence,” Gogniat said. “We’re not saying you need to radically change your life. 

“Maybe just take the stairs on the way to work. Stand up and walk around a little bit more. That’s where you get the most bang for your buck, not crazy, high-intensity exercise.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Arkansas explored some of the benefits associated with exercising in later life.

According to their findings, exercising into older age may help consumers stay young. Their work showed that regular physical activity can have a positive effect on the aging process from a cellular level. 

“There are functional benefits to exercise in muscle, even when performed late in life, but the contributions of epigenetic factors to late-life exercise adaptation are poorly defined,” the researchers wrote. “These data provide a molecular basis for exercise as a therapy to attenuate skeletal muscle aging.”  

Staying young into older age

The researchers conducted their study on aging mice. They had the mice run on a weighted wheel as often as they wanted to for two months and compared their health outcomes with mice of the same age who had a sedentary routine. 

To understand the effect of exercise on cellular aging, the researchers analyzed the DNA process of methylation. This is a process in which groups of cells cluster outside of genes, and it ultimately affects the ability to produce certain proteins. As the body ages, this process happens more frequently. 

“DNA methylation changes in a lifespan tend to happen in a somewhat systematic fashion, to the point where you can look at someone’s DNA from a given tissue sample and with a fair degree of accuracy predict their chronological age,” said researcher Kevin Murach. 

The study findings showed that the mice who ran on the weighted wheel for two months were eight weeks younger on a cellular level than sedentary mice of the same chronological age. The researchers explained that these findings are significant because many of these mice don’t live beyond two years old, and they had reached that benchmark by the end of the study. With regular exercise, the mice were able to slow down their biological aging. 

Though the study was conducted on mice, the researchers believe the findings also hold up for humans. They hope the message is especially clear for older consumers who don't exercise frequently: it’s never too late to start. Adopting an exercise routine, even at an older age, can have long-term benefits on the biological aging process. 

While several studies have emphasized the cognitive benefits for older consumers that stay physically active, a new study has explored the importance of also staying mentally active. 

According to researchers from the American Academy of Neurology, older consumers that are engaged with activities like reading, crossword puzzles, or card games are more likely to keep their brains active, which can delay the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s. 

“Our study shows that people who engage in more cognitively stimulating activities may be delaying the age at which they develop dementia,” said researcher Robert S. Wilson, Ph.D. “It is important to note, after we accounted for late life level of cognitive activity, neither education nor early life cognitive activity were associated with the age at which a person developed Alzheimer’s dementia. Our research suggests that the link between cognitive activity and the age at which a person developed dementia is mainly driven by the activities you do later in life.”  

The benefits of keeping the brain active

The researchers had nearly 2,000 participants around the age of 80 involved in the study. Each year of the study, the participants had their cognitive skills tested, and they also answered questions about how often they engaged in hobbies like playing cards, doing crossword puzzles, or reading. 

The researchers determined that participants who completed more of these activities had better overall cognitive function. This is especially important for older consumers because higher cognitive function was associated with delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s by five years. Those with lower cognitive function typically developed Alzheimer’s at 89, but participants that regularly played card games or wrote letters typically developed Alzheimer’s at 94. 

The researchers explained that participants were more likely to have strong cognitive function when they engaged in these activities several times per week. It’s also important to note that consumers can pick up these hobbies at any point in older age to reap these benefits. 

“The good news is that it’s never too late to start doing the kinds of inexpensive, accessible activities we looked at in our study,” said Dr. Wilson “Our findings suggest it may be beneficial to start doing these things, even in your 80s, to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia.”