Elder Financial Exploitation: Signs and How to Report It

The hardest thing about elder financial exploitation is often who does it: not a faceless scammer, but someone the older adult knows and trusts. It is the misuse or theft of an older adult's money, property, or assets, and a recognized form of elder abuse,1 and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that neighbors, caregivers, professionals, and even family or friends may take money without permission, overcharge for services, or fail to repay what they owe. 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, is the illegal or improper use of an older adult's money, property, or assets.1 It is one of the recognized categories of elder abuse, alongside physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative recognizes the same set of categories.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.4

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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes how neighbors, caregivers, professionals, and even family or friends may take money without permission, fail to repay money they owe, charge too much for services, or simply not do what they were paid to do.1 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:2

• Sudden changes in bank accounts or banking practices.
• An unexplained withdrawal of a large sum, often by someone accompanying the older adult.
• Unauthorized ATM withdrawals or charges.
• Abrupt changes to a will, deed, title, or other financial or legal documents.
• Unpaid bills or shut-off notices despite the person having enough money to cover them.

Behavior can signal it too: a new "best friend" or caregiver who takes control of the finances and isolates the older adult, reluctance to discuss money that used to be open, or a parent who seems anxious or evasive around a particular person. One red flag can have an innocent explanation. A cluster of them is a reason to look harder.

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. For everything else, you have time to take the steps below in order.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; depending on the situation, the institution may be able to stop or recover the money, and it can watch the account for further activity.
3. Report to Adult Protective Services. Adult Protective Services is the state and local program that receives and responds to reports of financial exploitation of older adults, and every state operates one.3 You can reach your state's program through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.1,5 You don't need to prove anything; a reasonable suspicion is enough, and investigating is their role.3
4. Involve law enforcement for theft or a scam. Financial exploitation can be a crime. If money was stolen or sent to a scammer, a report to local police creates a record and can start a criminal investigation, and scams can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission.
5. Preserve the evidence. Keep bank statements, receipts, letters, and a dated log of what you noticed and when. It's what the bank, Adult Protective Services, and police will all ask for.

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. Many financial institutions let an account holder name a trusted contact the bank can reach about suspicious activity, and set up alerts for large or unusual transactions.
• 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.