Florida's seniors have been bleeding cash for years while criminals got rich.
Politicians talked about the problem but never did much about it.
And Florida just launched one initiative that will leave scammers running scared.
Florida seniors lost nearly $5 billion in 2024 alone
Scammers have turned Florida into a gold mine.
With more than 4.9 million residents aged 65 and older, the Sunshine State ranks second in the nation for senior fraud complaints.
Americans over 60 lost close to $5 billion to scams in 2024.¹
But here's the sick part: only one in five victims actually report the crime.²
That means the real number is likely five times higher.
Florida seniors reported losses totaling $388 million just in the first half of 2024.³
Tech support scams cost Florida seniors over $51 million in 2023.⁴
Investment schemes drained another $90 million from retirees who thought they were securing their future.⁵
https://twitter.com/LtGovJayCollins/status/1991168279189070142?s=20
Romance scams stole $40 million from lonely seniors looking for companionship.⁶
These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet.
They're life savings wiped out in minutes by criminals who specifically hunt older Americans.
Two elderly victims in Martin County lost nearly $100,000 after clicking on a fake McAfee security alert.⁷
Deputies eventually arrested a suspect tied to an international fraud ring operating out of India.⁸
In April, authorities busted Weikai Zhang, 43, who allegedly stole $613,000 from Florida seniors through pop-up scams.⁹
He's linked to a national organized crime network targeting older Americans.
A 71-year-old Orlando man had $50,000 drained from his account by scammers using a fake FTC notice.¹⁰
They told him he'd been overpaid $150,000 and needed to send checks immediately.
Only a vigilant bank teller stopped it from getting worse.
Operation Senior Shield puts criminals in the crosshairs
Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins and Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Michelle Branham announced Operation Senior Shield at a Jacksonville senior living facility.
Collins is a decorated Green Beret who lost his leg in combat but kept serving for five more years.
He's not some career politician who thinks launching a website counts as action.
"Our seniors deserve protection from criminals who prey on them," Collins said. "With real-time alerts and a coordinated strike team, Florida is putting power back in their hands."¹¹
Operation Senior Shield provides free text and email alerts about emerging scam tactics before criminals hit.
Branham explained that seniors everywhere tell the same stories about suspicious calls, fake credit card alerts, and urgent texts designed to create panic.
"When people try to take advantage of you, it's wrong, it's evil," Collins stated. "But we as a state will not stand idly by."¹²
https://twitter.com/LtGovJayCollins/status/1991495357784793284?s=20
The initiative creates a fraud strike team bringing together cybersecurity experts, law enforcement, and senior advocates to share intelligence and respond fast.
Collins described it as making seniors "hard targets" by giving them information to understand threats before scammers reach their door, inbox, or phone.
The program also includes hands-on training where ethical hackers walk seniors through the exact steps criminals use in a controlled environment.
"It's not just education, it's empowerment," Collins explained.¹³
Seniors can sign up at opseniorshieldfl.com with their phone number or email to start receiving alerts.
The alerts don't contain clickable links to prevent scammers from exploiting the system itself.
Branham emphasized that no one should feel ashamed for falling victim to these sophisticated schemes.
"These conversations, they don't just prevent scams — they strengthen our relationships together and restore confidence, and they mitigate that impact, that stigma of feeling embarrassed or humiliated or ashamed," Branham said.¹⁴
Collins brought decades of experience leading under pressure from military operations to disaster response when he took this job.
He's applying that same mission to protecting Florida's most vulnerable citizens from predators who see them as easy marks.
https://twitter.com/LtGovJayCollins/status/1991546887141462363?s=20
The strike team will work around the clock to stop criminals before they strike, not just clean up after victims lose everything.
This is what happens when states get serious about protecting their people instead of just issuing press releases about how much they care.
Florida seniors spent their lives working and paying taxes.
They deserve better than watching criminals in India or China drain their bank accounts while politicians do nothing.
Operation Senior Shield won't stop every scam.
But it's going to make life a lot harder for the parasites targeting grandparents across Florida.
And that's exactly what these criminals deserve.
¹ U.S. Senate Aging Committee, "Elder Fraud Report 2024," U.S. Senate, 2025.
² Florida Department of Elder Affairs, "Elder Fraud Statistics," Florida.gov, 2025.
³ Florida Attorney General's Office, "2024 Mid-Year Fraud Report," MyFloridaLegal.com, 2024.
⁴ FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, "2023 Elder Fraud Report," FBI.gov, 2024.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ CBS12, "Martin County Pop-Up Scam Arrests," CBS12.com, November 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ CBS12, "National Crime Ring Bust," CBS12.com, April 2025.
¹⁰ Florida Phoenix, "Bank Teller Stops Scam," FloridaPhoenix.com, 2025.
¹¹ CBS12, "Operation Senior Shield Launch," CBS12.com, November 2025.
¹² News4Jax, "Lt. Gov Collins Announces Initiative," News4Jax.com, November 2025.
¹³ A.G. Gancarski, "Jay Collins highlights Operation Senior Shield," Florida Politics, November 18, 2025.
¹⁴ CBS12, "Operation Senior Shield Launch," CBS12.com, November 2025.
