Financial Exploitation of Older Adults

What is Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation of an elderly person happens when their money, property, or assets are taken or used without their permission, illegally, or improperly. To put it simply: it’s when someone takes advantage of an older adult to benefit themself financially.

What makes financial exploitation and abuse tricky is that it’s often committed by someone the victim knows, including family members, friends, business associates, healthcare professionals, and more.

Common Forms of Exploitation

The most obvious example of financial exploitation is theft of funds or property. This can mean things like a family member transfers money from the senior under the guise of “taking care of it” for them, a worker in a care facility steals jewelry or other collectibles, a care provider copies or steals sensitive account information and accesses it at a later time, and many other examples.

Other forms of financial abuse may be a bit more complicated and, thus, harder to spot. The examples listed below are just a few of the most common types.

Power of Attorney Abuse

When someone is given power of attorney for an elderly person, they can make decisions for them. Abuse happens when the person with power of attorney isn’t making decisions in the best interest of the older adult, but is focused on their own financial benefit. This could include transferring funds to themselves, changing financial documents like deeds or wills to benefit them, and more.

Stealing or Misusing Money for Care Costs

Older adults tend to have higher care costs and requirements. This need is a common way for abusers to take advantage of an elderly person. They may charge more than needed, charge their fee more often for services hoping the senior won’t notice, or even simply steal money earmarked for care costs and use it for themselves. Sometimes the abuser will still provide baseline care costs so that the senior isn’t aware they’re being taken advantage of.

Extortion

Extortionist threaten older adults to get access to funds or information. These threats can be obvious, such as violence toward the senior or someone/something they care about, or more subtle, such as threats to stop taking care of the elderly person or sending them away to a care facility.

Forgery

With this type of exploitation, a bad actor illegally signs the name of an elderly person in order to get access to their money or property. This can include signing for checks or altering key documents to benefit the abuser.

For more examples of common types of elder financial exploitation, visit the U.S. Department of Justice website.

Preventing Financial Elder Abuse

If you’re worried about yourself or a family member being exploited, keep an eye out for red flags. Some of the most common include…

• Unexpected or unexplained changes to the older adult’s bank accounts or other financial records
• New “friends” or caregivers who attempt to quickly gain the trust of and isolate the older adult
• Missing financial documents including wills, insurance policies, account information, etc.
• People who insist they need to provide services for the older adult that don’t actually seem necessary
• Changes to how the older adult communicates via text or email, as this may imply that someone else is answering for them or telling them what to say
• Large shifts in the older adult’s regular spending habits
• An increase in bounced checks, unpaid bills, or overdraft fees on the older adult’s account

Whenever possible, it’s best to ensure that older adults have a supportive network of involved loved ones that they (and you!) can trust. That can mean having conversations with the senior and those around them about potential red flags and ensuring the older adult feels comfortable reaching out with concerns or questions. If the senior lives far away or in a care facility, you can schedule regular check-ins with them and their care team via phone or web call and communicate your expectations to those you trust within their sphere of influence.

Other steps you can take to help shore up an older adult’s financial safety include…

• Keeping all of their financial documents and information in a secure place
• Updating their privacy settings online, including passwords, who can contact them on social media, etc.
• Regularly reviewing their account activity and credit report with them

Reporting Financial Abuse

If you fear that yourself or an older adult in your life may be experiencing financial exploitation, you should take steps immediately to intervene. That can be as simple as starting a conversation to understand exactly what is happening, or reporting the exploitation to relevant services, such as the older adult’s financial institution. You should also report abuse on the National Adult Protective Services Association’s website or call the Justice Department’s National Elder Fraud Hotline at (833) 372-8311. This resource locator from the Justice Department can help you find local organizations that can provide help for a variety of issues.

Staying vigilant and engaged can help ensure that your loved ones remain financially safe as they grow old. Taking necessary steps to prepare can save you from headache and heartache later and ensure that your loved ones’ retired years are everything they’ve imagined.