Spot and Prevent Elder Financial Abuse

Every year, older adults in the United States are victims of financial abuse, with an estimated cost of $27 billion. Financial exploitation can take many forms, such as the theft of money or property by a family member, caregiver, or scammer. It’s essential to prevent this from happening to older Americans.

Here are some ways to help protect yourself and your loved ones:

Actively Monitor Your Accounts: Review your credit card and bank account statements as soon as you get them. Look for any unauthorized or suspicious transactions, and if you find any, report them to your bank right away.
Protect Your Personal Information: Never give out sensitive information like your bank account numbers, Social Security number, PINs, or passwords unless you initiated the contact through a legitimate website or phone number. Be aware that scam requests can come from an unsolicited phone call, text, email, letter, or even someone who shows up at your door.
Keep Financial Documents Safe: Store your checkbook, account statements, and other sensitive information in a secure place. Shred any paper documents with sensitive information that you no longer need.
Be Cautious with Powers of Attorney: At some point, you may create a power of attorney, which is a legal document that gives another person the authority to handle business on your behalf. While this can be very helpful, it’s important to be careful about who you choose as your representative.
Review Your Credit Report: Regularly check your credit report to make sure all the information is accurate. If you notice that a company you don’t know has obtained your credit report, contact the credit-reporting agency if you see anything suspicious.
Take Your Time: When making a big financial decision or investment, don’t rush. Make sure you fully understand the transaction and ask lots of questions. Consider getting help from a lawyer or financial advisor. Always walk away from anyone who pressures you to decide “right now.” This is a major red flag.
Stay Alert: Here are some common scams to look out for:
1. To get fewer telemarketing calls, sign up for the national Do Not Call Registry. If you are on this list, be suspicious of any calls from companies that are not supposed to contact you.
2. Never agree to requests from strangers to deposit a check and send some of the money back—this is almost always a fake check scam.
3. If you use social media, many security experts advise against posting personal information about family members, such as names, addresses, birthdays, and daily activities. Scammers can use this information for scams like the “grandparent scam,” where a con artist pretends to be a relative in distress who needs money quickly.

Knowing how to spot and prevent elder financial exploitation will help you protect yourself and your finances.

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Larry Marvin

LifeCrafter Money $ense

Sources

Money Smart for Older Adults

How Money Smart Are You: Protecting Your Identity and Other Assets

Understanding Deposit Insurance

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Larry Marvin

Larry Marvin is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. His career spans over fifty years as a corporate trainer, medical administrator, small business owner, income management coach, and public speaker. He has conducted over 300 workshops, classes, and seminars during his years as a corporate trainer on such topics as budgeting, debt elimination, banking, saving plans, budgeting software, spreadsheets, and investing basics.Larry has conducted budgeting and debt elimination seminars at U.S. Steel and UAB Special Studies.
His passion is teaching and equipping people with the financial knowledge they need to act in the best interest of their money and family.

He is passionate about his faith, has been married to his wife for 54+ years, and has three adult children and fourteen grandchildren.

Larry Marvin is the co-founder and Executive Director of LifeCrafter Foundation.