A new free brochure called Protect Your Pocketbook: Tips to Avoid Financial Exploitation, published by the National Center on Elder Abuse and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, offers senior citizens and those who care for them a list of warning signs of financial elder abuse and tips to prevent this kind of exploitation from occurring. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, as many as 5 million senior citizens are the victims of financial elder abuse each year, costing an estimated $3 billion annually.
In order to prevent the risk of financial exploitation, senior citizens should avoid ever giving out personal financial information such as Social Security, ATM, or credit card numbers over the telephone. If the senior citizen is not capable of managing his or her own finances, and a family member or friend cannot be entrusted with the responsibility, a professional money manager can be hired. Lawyers can help draw up an estate and asset management plan including a durable power of attorney, a health care advance directive and a living will.
According to the new brochure, some of the warning signs that a senior citizen is the victim of financial exploitation include newly authorized account signers, recent changes in wills, Power of Attorney, trusts, mortgages, deeds, property titles and other important financial documents. Increased credit card expenditures or spending patterns that do not match the senior citizen’s personality, are another indication. Missing valuable possessions can be another indication that the senior citizen is being exploited by another person. The introduction of a new best friend, such as a new, possibly younger, romantic partner, especially in conjunction with the opening of a new name added to a bank account or the opening of a new joint account, can also be a cause for concern, according to experts. A change in the appearance of an elderly person’s signature is another indication he or she may be the victim of financial abuse, according to the new brochure.
If elder financial abuse is suspected, senior rights advocates recommend calling the local Adult Protective Services agency and the state attorney general’s office, or, in the case of an emergency, calling 911. Filing a police report in any case is advised. If the state where the exploitation occurs has probate courts, they can intervene in the case of a guardian or caretaker abusing an elderly person. A temporary restraining order might also be granted in this case, elderly advocates say.
