About financial abuse: WARNING SIGNS
Experts say elder financial abuse will be the "Crime of the 21st Century" as the growing senior population becomes a target. Regrettably, many seniors are victimized by their own relatives or caregivers—people they generally trust.
Financial exploitation takes many forms. Warning signs include:
- Obtaining unauthorized access to an elder’s Social Security checks, pension payments, checking or savings account, credit card or ATM; identity theft
- Withholding portions of checks cashed for an elder
- Charging an elder excessive rent or unreasonable fees for basic care (e.g., transportation, food, or medicine)
- Scams (e.g., bogus sweepstakes, lotteries) that use deception, scare tactics, or exaggerated claims to get money from elders
- “Conning” by con artists who make their living preying on others and "befriend" elders
- Calls from telemarketers selling worthless, over priced, or nonexistent products
- Unfair or misleading home equity agreements that cause elders to lose their homes
- Unscrupulous home repair contractors
- Inappropriate financial products and services
- Fraudulent lifelong care offers in exchange for money or property
- Use an elder’s property or possessions without permission
- Forging an elder’s signature
- Coercing an elder to sign a deed, will, or power of attorney
- Pressuring an elder to give a "gift"
- Claiming to have found money and offering to split it with an elder if he or she first pays some amount as a sign of good faith
- Convincing an elder his or her child has been injured or is in jail and needs money