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Financial abuse of senior citizens is a criminal action

On Behalf of | Aug 1, 2019 | Financial Abuse |

People who are in nursing homes are sometimes subjected to abuse. This comes in a variety of ways, but one that isn’t spoken of too often is financial abuse. This is a tragedy that impacts all seniors, not only those who are in a nursing home.

Across the nation, financial abuse of seniors costs around $2.9 billion per year. People who are trying to defraud people often turn to senior citizens because people over 50 years old hold more than 70% of this country’s wealth. These older Americans are sometimes dealing with a decline in mental abilities, which can lead to them being more susceptible to this type of fraud.

There are many things that might happen when a nursing home resident is the victim of financial abuse. They might have money taken from their room. In some cases, the fraudster convinces the senior citizen to put their name on financial accounts or to change their will.

Financial abuse isn’t always easy to spot. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, make sure that someone trustworthy is keeping an eye on their financial accounts. Any strange transactions should be noted. This might be a larger-than-normal withdrawal or an online purchase when the senior doesn’t use the internet.

It is a good idea to remind senior citizens not to give out their personal information, including their name, Social Security number or financial information. This alone might help to keep them protected. If you do find out that they are the victim of financial abuse, take swift action. This might include contacting the police department and filing a legal complaint regarding the situation.

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