| The scourge of elder financial abuse takes two forms—known perpetrators abusing the trust and needs of older adults and criminal perpetrators seeking to make them believe something that isn’t true to steal from them. Both types of this crime are vastly under-reported. However, the Federal Trade Commission, accounting for underreporting of scams, estimates that criminals stole as much as $81.5 billion from adults age 60 and over in 2024 alone. Let World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, remind us to be proactive to deter financial crimes. |
| Protect Financial Accounts•Bank online. It is safer than traditional banking in that it gives account holders 24/7 access to review activity and allows for real-time alerts to flag suspicious transactions. It can also prevent criminals from setting up online access to our accounts if we haven’t already done so.•Add a trusted contact to financial accounts. This person can’t make transactions but can be alerted to suspicious activity or if the account holder can’t be reached. |
| Monitor and Freeze Credit•Review your credit reports for unauthorized activity. You can request free credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—at annualcreditreport.com.•Place a credit freeze with each bureau to help prevent new financial accounts from being opened using stolen information. |
| Block Unwanted Calls and Text Messages•Check with your phone carrier or a trusted third party for free or low-cost call and text blocking services to keep the spam and scam robocalls at bay.•Add all your numbers to the FTC’s Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov). While it won’t stop scammers, it can reduce legitimate telemarketing calls and texts.•If your smartphone has a “Report Spam” option, use it to flag the message to your carrier. |
reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network