As someone creeping towards retirement, I get it. Retired people interact with fewer other folks than working people (i.e. they have fewer people to tell them it's a scam). They often are lonely and eager for someone to tell them that their life meant something. They are less tech- and scam-savvy than younger folks. Absent-mindedness and fuzzy thinking (like gullibility) starts to set in. And, because the US has such a weak "public safety net", they often have private retirement funds they they control. Really, retired people are the perfect targets.