How to Protect Your Loved Ones from Elder Financial Abuse

November 6, 2017

Provided by Albert Chavez & Joseph Arbolaez,

financial representatives with MassMutual Miami.

Could someone you love be a victim of elder financial abuse?

Each year, seniors lose over $36 billion to elder financial abuse and more than a third of seniors are affected by financial abuse in any five year period, according to one recent study¹. This total includes criminal fraud, caregiver abuse, and financial exploitation, where seniors are subjected to high-pressure sales tactics and misleading marketing.

Lawmakers are paying attention. Federal and state governments have begun to pass laws to protect seniors from financial abuse. This is good news. However, these laws often protect a senior only after someone realizes that an elderly person is being exploited. An elderly person can lose a significant amount of their savings before someone close to the senior realizes what has happened.

Red Flags

In order to stop elder financial abuse, is critical that those closest to seniors be on the lookout for possible red flags. As a family member or close friend of an elderly person, you may be in the best position to detect early signs of elderly financial abuse.

Would you know the signs of elder financial abuse and exploitation? Here are some:

The elderly person becomes dazed, nervous or fearful when discussing financial matters
He or she does not remember having requested certain transactions
The elderly person provides contradictory or questionable explanations for financial transactions
You observe a significant change in the senior’s financial habits (such as more frequent or larger withdrawals)
There is the appearance of a new “friend” who is insistently requesting information about the elderly person’s accounts, or who tries to make changes without the senior’s permission. This new “friend” could be an acquaintance, a family member, a health care provider, or even someone the elderly person met on-line.
The new “friend” or family member refuses to let you speak to the elderly person, or insists on being present when you talk with the elderly individual.
You may see questionable signatures on documents, or it may appear that numbers on financial documents have been forged or changed.
You may learn of sudden or unexplained changes in beneficiaries on life insurance policies, or see that there have been unexplained changes of address on an elderly person’s financial statements.

What to do?

If you see any of these signs, it is critical to act quickly.

There are a number of steps that you can take:

Contact the bank or financial professional who manages the elderly person’s accounts. The bank or financial professional can freeze accounts or take other action. (MassMutual has resources to help its clients with these situations. You can email ElderAbuse@massmutual.com with questions).
Contact the Adult Protective Services agency in your state. Like Child Protective Services agencies, Adult Protective Services agencies are created to protect elderly and vulnerable adults.
Contact your local police department if you believe that the elderly person has been a victim of fraud.
Finally, if the elderly person has another trusted contact such as an attorney or accountant, he or she may be able to help.

Seniors lose approximately $17 billion annually to elder financial exploitation alone. Criminal fraud accounts for $13 billion and caregiver abuse is estimated at $7 billion¹. Keeping an eye out for red flags of elder abuse can help protect the ones you love.

¹The True Link Report on Elder Financial Abuse 2015.

For more information, please see https://www.massmutual.com/individuals/educational-articles/index

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