California Attorney General Rob Bonta stood in San Francisco on October 20, 2026 and ran through the ways crypto scams reach people, according to a Bay City News report. One item on his list was aimed at people who had already been robbed: recovery scams, in which someone offers to get lost money back.
The report does not say who the victims of recovery scams are, and it does not single out older adults. But the logic is plain enough to describe to a parent.
Why a loss makes the next call easier
Someone who has lost money has two feelings that a scammer can use. They want it back, and they are often embarrassed enough to keep the loss to themselves. A message that says "we can recover your funds" speaks to the first and relies on the second.
Nothing about that is a flaw in the person. It is what the offer is designed to find.
What the attorney general said
Bonta advised against using crypto ATMs at all. He also pointed to Senate Bill 1208, signed in early October, which lets his office ask a court to return stolen cryptocurrency to victims, including when the perpetrators are outside the United States.
That is a route for the state, not a service a family can buy, so anyone else claiming they can retrieve the money has not been given that power.
What a family can do
If your parent has already lost money, a calm conversation now is worth more than any warning later. Ask whether anyone has contacted them since, by phone, text or advertisement, offering to help. If they have, nothing has been lost yet by telling you.
AARP runs a free Fraud Watch Network helpline at 877-908-3360, listed Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, according to its scams page, which was last updated October 9, 2026. A family can call it together.
If this is your family
Agree one rule: any offer to recover lost money comes to you before your parent replies, however it arrives. Tell them you are not checking up on them, and that you would make the same rule for yourself.
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