| Consumer Alerts
Elder Abuse Prevention: Financial Exploitation
As some seniors experience loss of driving ability and personal mobility, they become dependent on others to assist with and sometimes take over financial matters. Although this increases the opportunity for abusive practices, care-givers and others (lawyers, bankers, relatives, friends, etc.) may have a need to conduct legitimate financial business or handle funds to provide care to the person.
Unfortunately, sometimes a care-giver, relative, helpful neighbor or repairman can become familiar with a senior’s finances and slowly begin to take larger and larger amounts of money as the senior becomes more frail.
Indicators of Financial Exploitation
A care-giver seems overly interested in the victim’s financial situation, or a care-giver has no means of support.
A care-giver or family member with access to the senior’s money appears to use the funds for themselves rather than for the senior, resulting in numerous unpaid bills or overdue rent, for example.
A senior doesn’t have adequate food, clothing or personal care items when there appears to be enough money to provide them.
A senior is greatly overcharged for services such as auto repairs or mowing the lawn.
A senior doesn’t receive services he/she has already paid for.
A senior loans large sums with no arrangement for repayment.
Relatives or new acquaintances have moved in with a senior.
Items continue to be missing on a regular basis from a senior’s home.
Suspicious activity on a senior’s credit card accounts.
Bank statements and cancelled checks are no longer going to a senior’s home; all mail has been re-directed to a different address.
A senior is not aware of or does not understand recently completed financial transactions.
Suspicious signatures on checks or other documents belonging to a senior.
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