A new LeadingAge CAST case study highlights LeadingAge member 2Life’s pilot of an app that older adults use to defend against online scams and fraud—a timely initiative as fraud against older adults poses a serious challenge and continues to expand.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recorded a total of $7.7 billion in losses from over 200,000 older adults in 2025, a 37% increase in complaints over 2024. And, as explored at a July 2026 Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to perpetrate fraud against older adults.

App Scans Emails and Texts for Scams

2Life Communities provides affordable senior housing for over 2,000 older adults in the greater Boston, MA, region. The case study, Protecting 2Life Older Adults from Scams, cites a survey of 78 residents that revealed 60% had been victims of an online scam. In addition, residents frequently asked staff to review questionable emails and texts.

With a Resident Technology Support Program already in place that provided regular online safety courses and had gained residents’ trust, 2Life Communities decided to pursue more robust protection. Partnering with SeniorShield Inc. and the University of Southern California, 2Life conducted a pilot study and installed an app for iPhone and Android smartphones and tablets on residents’ devices.

Developed by cybersecurity experts and gerontologists to protect older adults from scams, SeniorShield enables older adults to verify the authenticity of emails and texts by uploading screenshots and photos and pasting in wording for review. The app uses AI to analyze the message, determine whether or not the message is safe, give a reason for the decision, then advise the user on how to handle any fraudulent messages.

Residents who do not wish to use the app may text screenshots to a phone number and receive a plain language assessment. SeniorShield also continuously educates residents on online safety through videos, quizzes, and articles, keeping them up to date on new scams.

2Life Communities trained 102 residents to use this AI-powered scam verification tool. To meet different levels of resident comfort with technology and increase adoption, each resident received individual training.

Outcomes

Of the 682 scam verifications residents have submitted so far, SeniorShield has found 204 scams and 184 suspicious messages. With scams against older adults costing an average of $38,500 each, SeniorShield has protected 2Life residents from potential losses of  $7,854,000.

Best of all, adoption has been strong, with resident approval ratings as follows:

• 81% of residents were satisfied with the application’s features,
• 81% were satisfied with the verification tool,
• 75% found the tutorials easy to follow, and
• 75% wanted to keep using SeniorShield after the study.

For more information on this implementation and tips on protecting residents, read the full case study.