Elder Financial Exploitation: Signs and How to Report It

The hardest thing about elder financial exploitation can be who does it: someone the older adult knows and trusts, not only a faceless scammer. It happens when an older adult's money or belongings are misused or stolen, and it is one of the types of elder abuse the National Institute on Aging describes.1 The U.S. Department of Justice describes two types: financial abuse, committed by someone the older adult knows, and financial fraud, committed by a stranger.2 Because the warning signs show up in bank statements and behavior before anyone says a word, knowing what to look for, and the exact steps to take, is what turns suspicion into protection.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What Elder Financial Exploitation Is
• Who Does It: Trusted People and Strangers
• Warning Signs of Elder Financial Exploitation
• What to Do Right Now
• How to Lower the Risk
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Elder Financial Exploitation Is

Elder financial exploitation, also called elder financial abuse, happens when money or belongings are misused or stolen from an older adult. It can include forging checks, taking someone else's retirement or Social Security benefits, withholding access to money or financial information, or using a person's credit cards and bank accounts without their permission.1 The National Institute on Aging lists it among the types of elder abuse, alongside physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative counts financial exploitation as one of the five subtypes it uses to describe elder abuse.1 Congress treated it as serious enough to name directly: the Elder Justice Act of 2010 was the first comprehensive federal law to address the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults.5

It takes many shapes, from a caregiver quietly draining a checking account, to a relative pressuring a parent to sign over the house, to a stranger convincing a widow to wire money for a prize that never arrives. What ties them together is that the older adult's resources end up serving someone else.

Who Does It: Trusted People and Strangers

There are two broad patterns, and they call for slightly different responses.

The first, and the one families find hardest to accept, is exploitation by someone the older adult knows and trusts. The U.S. Department of Justice calls this financial abuse, committed by someone the older adult knows, and its examples include power of attorney abuse, a professional the person trusts stealing from them, using money meant to cover care costs, and theft by someone who works at a nursing home.2 A shared bank account, a power of attorney, or unsupervised access to a checkbook can all become the opening.

The second is the outright scam by a stranger or imposter: the fake grandchild in trouble, the phony government agent, the sweepstakes that requires a fee. These move fast and often chase money the older adult sends willingly under false pretenses.

Telling which pattern you're dealing with matters, because a scam by a stranger points you toward the bank and law enforcement quickly, while exploitation by a trusted person may also involve Adult Protective Services and, sometimes, untangling a misused legal authority like a power of attorney. Our guide to alternatives to guardianship covers how those authorities are supposed to work, and what to do when one is abused.

Warning Signs of Elder Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation usually leaves a paper trail before it produces a confession. The recognized red flags include:3

• Sudden changes in bank accounts or banking practices.
• An unexplained withdrawal of large sums of money by a person accompanying the older adult.
• Unauthorized withdrawal of the older adult's funds using their ATM card.
• Abrupt changes in a will or other financial documents.
• Bills left unpaid despite the availability of adequate financial resources.

Behavior can signal it too: a caregiver controlling or isolating the older adult, a caregiver who refuses to let visitors see or speak to the older adult alone, or an older adult who becomes withdrawn or acts agitated. The older adult's own report of financial exploitation is a warning sign in its own right.3 Watch for a pattern that might suggest a problem, and seek help if you are concerned.3

What to Do Right Now

If you suspect elder financial exploitation, a short, specific sequence does the most good.

1. If the older adult is in immediate danger, call 911. Otherwise, work through the steps below.1
2. Contact the financial institution. If a bank account, credit union, credit card, or other financial account was involved, work with your loved one to contact that provider as soon as possible. Move quickly, but don't count on getting the money back: the FBI says that while rapid reporting to its Internet Crime Complaint Center can sometimes support the recovery of lost funds, recovering money lost in scams, especially those originating overseas, is challenging and unlikely.2
3. Report to Adult Protective Services. Adult Protective Services is a social services program run by state and local governments for older adults and adults with disabilities who need help because of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation, and in all states it is charged with receiving and responding to reports of adult maltreatment.4 Because the program is run by state and local governments, the report goes to the program serving your loved one's state; the National Adult Protective Services Association lists phone numbers for programs in each state and can be reached at 202-370-6292.4,1 If your loved one lives in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or board and care home, you can also contact a long-term care ombudsman. Ombudsmen advocate for the needs of people who live in those settings and are trained to help resolve problems, and you can find your state's ombudsman by calling 202-332-2275.1 The Department of Justice also lists the Eldercare Locator helpline, 1-800-677-1116.1,6
4. Involve law enforcement for theft or a scam. Financial exploitation can be a crime. If money was stolen or sent to a scammer, report it to your local police or sheriff, and scams can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission.2 The U.S. Department of Justice also lists its National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-372-8311, staffed 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.1
5. Preserve the evidence. Keep bank statements, receipts, letters, and a dated log of what you noticed and when.

Our guide to recognizing and reporting elder abuse walks through the reporting system in full, including how anonymous reports and after-report investigations work.

How to Lower the Risk

Prevention is mostly about removing the openings before they're used.

• Keep more than one trusted person involved. Exploitation thrives on a single person having sole, unsupervised control of the money. A second set of eyes, even just a relative who reviews statements, is a strong deterrent.
• Use the bank's own tools. In one emerging practice, banks and credit unions may allow an account holder to choose one or more trusted contacts the bank or credit union can reach out to, for example when it is unable to reach the account holder or suspects possible financial exploitation.2
• Set up legal authority carefully, and early. A power of attorney is a useful tool that becomes a risk in the wrong hands, so it's worth choosing the agent thoughtfully and, where possible, building in oversight. See our guide to what to do instead of, or alongside, guardianship.
• Talk about scams openly. Older adults who know that no legitimate agency demands payment in gift cards, and that a "grandchild in trouble" call should be verified before any money moves, are far harder to scam.

Learn More

Find personalized help protecting an older adult from financial exploitation at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.