Financial exploitation is a common occurrence. It happens when a person misuses or takes the assets of a vulnerable adult for his/her benefit. Exploitation frequently occurs without the explicit knowledge or consent of an older or disabled adult, depriving the person of certain assets.
Assets can be taken via forms of deception, pretenses, coercion, harassment, duress, and threats.
Here are some types of Financial Exploitation of Older Adults to be wary of:
- Theft: involves assets taken without knowledge, consent, or authorization; may include stealing cash, valuables, medications, or other personal property.
- Fraud: involves acts of dishonesty that may consist of forgeries, falsification of records, unauthorized check-writing, Ponzi-type financial schemes, and much more.
- Real Estate: involves illegal sales, transfers or changes to property title(s); may include unauthorized or invalid changes to estate documents.
- Contractor: includes building contractors or handymen who receive payment(s) for making repairs but fail to initiate or complete project; may consist of invalid liens by contractors.
- Lottery Scams: involves payments (or transfer of funds) to collect unclaimed property or “prizes” from lotteries or sweepstakes.
- Electronic: includes “phishing” e-mail messages to trick persons into unwittingly surrendering bank passwords; may consist of faxes, wire transfers, telephonic communications.
- Mortgage: includes financial products that are unaffordable or out-of-compliance with regulatory requirements; may consist of loans issued against the property by unauthorized parties.
- Investment: includes investments made without knowledge or consent; may consist of high-fee funds (front or back-loaded) or excessive trading activity to generate commissions for financial advisors.
- Insurance: involves sales of inappropriate products, such as a thirty-year annuity, may include unauthorized trading of life insurance policies.
