Over the past year, The Justice Department ramped up efforts to protect older adults from fraud and return money to fraud victims, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado.

Department investigators and law enforcement tracked 260 cases involving 600 defendants. The Department notified more than 500,000 eligible victims of the possibility of remission payment, according to the release. More than 160,000 victims collectively reclaimed $62 million from September 2021 to September 2022. 

The department announced plans to expand its Transnational Elder Fraud Task Force, which “is dedicated to disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting foreign-based fraud schemes that target American seniors,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated in the release. 

Prevention education efforts include community outreach to make potential victims aware of scams and exploitation. The District of Colorado released a video about grandparent scams, or “person-in-need” scams, which involve a scammer posing as a family member, or someone calling on behalf of a family member, in need of money, the release stated.

Report fraud and fraud attempts to the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311.