Awareness and Lionsgate Network Can Save Elderly US Citizens from Losing Their Life’s Savings

Naum Lanstman (74+) lost $340,000 — his retirement savings — to a sophisticated, multi-layered crypto fraud by an “international financial broker” named SpireBit. Aleksey Madan (68+) suffered a similar fate and lost the entire $137,000 he got from selling his house in Indiana. 

Unfortunately, these were not isolated or one-off incidents. Over 101,068 elderly U.S. citizens lost $3.4+ billion to various crypto-related frauds and scams in 2023, per the FBI’s Elder Fraud Report. 

Boomers and seniors like Naum or Aleksey are increasingly falling prey to “grandparent fraud,” romance or confidence scams, etc. Loneliness, isolation, and low awareness about crypto are the main reasons. 

To make things worse, enforcement agencies and banks are mostly unable to help victims recover their money. They lack the specialized tools and know-how required to solve crypto-related crimes. 

As Nuam’s son, Daniel Lanstman, pointed out, “There was a complete failure to protect [his] father.” 

Lionsgate Network fixes this with an advanced suite of blockchain analysis, tracking, and recovery tools to help victims of crypto-related frauds and scams. 

On the prevention side, however, the younger folks must step in and educate their parents or grandparents about digital financial crimes and the ways to avoid them. 

Together, it is possible to create a safer, more secure space for the elders online.

Prevention Is (Always) Better Than a Cure

Proactive action by a Samaritan helped protect an elderly woman in Texas from losing more money than she had already lost. 

Myndi Jordan (38) noticed the victim depositing cash worth thousands of dollars into a Bitcoin ATM at a gas station while on call. She immediately informed the White Settlement PD and helped restrict the loss. 

Although the woman still lost around $23K, this incident goes a long way in showing how positive action and vigilance by the younger population can prevent (or minimize) financial crimes. 

Elders become soft targets because they are often lonely and isolated. Naum, for instance, spent lots of time online watching basketball games and scrolling on social media. That’s where he got exposed to the SpireBit platform — through an Instagram ad. 

Like kids, and perhaps more so, there’s a dire need to educate aging boomers about online best practices, especially when they comprise 18.3% of U.S. internet users and spend more money online than Millenials and Gen Zs. 

It’s best if this education comes from loved ones and not dispassionate online sources. This will also assure elders that they have a safe space to open up if things ever go wrong. 

Notably, most elder fraud victims open up about their plight only after it’s too late. Making free and open conversations about digital security and financial safety the norm will close this gap and make recovery easier. 

Besides creating general awareness through educational material and interactive sessions, relatives and family members — especially grandchildren — must focus on certain specific preventive measures. This is particularly crucial to avoid grandparent fraud.

Since attackers usually impersonate a distressed grandchild in these frauds, relatives can discuss some secret phrase or word or question beforehand. This will allow the elderly to identify potential attacks and act sensibly, rather than falling for false claims and/or blackmails. 

While nothing guarantees 100% security in the online world, these collaborative steps can at least reduce the risks and make elders somewhat less vulnerable. 

Recovery Is Hard but Possible 

Autonomy and privacy are crypto’s biggest value propositions. However, once attackers extract money (crypto) from their victims, these become the steepest hurdles to recovery. 

Traditional methods used to trace money trails, etc., don’t stand a chance, which explains why the police and enforcement agencies are often helpless when it comes to helping elderly fraud victims. 

Lionsgate also cannot promise to recover lost crypto — no one can unless they are being dishonest. Yet, it has advanced blockchain analytics and forensic tools that helped recover over $450 million to date. 

The blockchain-native approach allows Lionsgate to surpass the limitations of traditional agencies. This is mission-critical when attackers are also constantly evolving. For example, they are using AI to build more sophisticated malware. Phishing attacks and identity thefts are also becoming increasingly undetectable. 

Only a technologically advanced and equally innovative adversary can keep up and emerge victorious in this race. Lionsgate has assumed this role and is also helping bring legacy agencies up to speed. 

However, recovering lost assets is not the platform’s biggest and most impactful contribution. Offering a safe, easy, and nonjudgmental means to report crypto-based financial crimes is. Stigma affects elderly victims more than anything else, including financial loss. 

The sooner someone reports a crypto crime, the better chance they have of getting their money back. But the way local police and traditional enforcement agencies often behave — shaming, disbelief, etc. — timely action is what most victims don’t get. 

Letting victims freely communicate their woes with an expert via the Recovery Wizard is a game-changer. It gives what most victims currently lack — visibility and hope. 

Supporting victims begins with assuring them a safe space. While relatives and loved ones work towards this within familial setups, Lionsgate is building the tools at the industry level. 

The collaborative effort will let elders integrate crypto into their daily lives, opening up another adoption route for the industry. The future is inclusive, so leaving elders out is not an option.