How to recognize and prevent financial senior citizen abuse
Financial abuse of seniors is more common than you might think. Find out how to recognize and prevent financial abuse against seniors to protect you and your loved ones.
Updated 
7 min. read
Financial abuse against seniors is one of the most common forms of elderly abuse. In the U.S., more than 3.5 million older adults are victims of financial exploitation each year. Seniors targeted by fraudsters suffer an average loss of $34,200 and an also experience mental and emotional struggles once they realize they’ve been abused. Here’s how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from financial elder abuse.
1. What is financial abuse of seniors?
Financial abuse against seniors usually involves someone using a senior person’s money, property, or assets under false pretenses. While the scammer can be a total stranger, in many cases of abuse, it’s someone the senior knows, or has recently befriended them, like a partner, family member, friend, neighbor, or even a caregiver. Examples of financial exploitation include the scammer:
- Pressuring the person to give them money or access to their financial info
- Manipulating or forcing the senior into signing a check, contract or will
- Pressuring the senior into taking out a loan to "help them out"
- Encouraging the senior to turn their personal bank account into a joint account
- Forging signatures on checks or legal documents
- Not returning money they borrowed and promised to give back
- Selling or transferring the senior's property or assets without their consent
The scammer will rely on their personal connection to the senior to get what they want, which makes signs of exploitation that much harder to spot because there’s so much grey area: Is it helping the senior manage their finances or is it just downright stealing?
And even when financial abuse is detected, it often goes unreported. Only 1 in 44 cases of financial abuse against seniors is reported every year, mainly because people are too afraid or embarrassed to report it. While nobody wants to admit that someone they know and trust is capable of fraud, it does happen —and it’s not your fault. Seniors may fall victim to scams by complete strangers too. Grandparent scams targeting seniors are common — learn more about grandparent scams and how to avoid them.
2. What are the warning signs of financial abuse against seniors?
It’s not easy to notice financial abuse while it’s happening, but there are warning signs you or your loved one should look out for:
- A trusted person like a relative, partner or caregiver starts taking interest or involvement in the senior’s finances and assets.
- The senior’s bank statements show transfers or withdrawals they don’t remember making.
- The senior starts to fail to meet their financial obligations like paying off credit card debt or monthly bills.
- A sense that the senior doesn’t have a say in making financial decisions.
- The senior starts to spend less time with existing friends and family and spends too much time with a new “friend” or partner.
- A sense that the senior is feeling intimidation or fear of a supposedly trustworthy person.
3. How to prevent financial abuse of seniors
Preventing this type of abuse starts with helping seniors feel empowered and supported. Seniors and loved ones can work together to prevent fraud, scams, and other financial traps.
Here are a few ways for seniors to avoid financial abuse:
- Handle your own finances if you’re able. You can use online or telephone banking if it’s too difficult for you to go out.
- Set up direct deposit. You can choose to have your pension checks and other sources of income directly deposited into their account, instead of getting them by mail.
- Set up automatic payments for credit cards and monthly bills so that there is one less thing to think about.
- Make sure you understand every document you sign. Don’t sign blank documents and don’t give your PIN or bank cards to anyone.
- Learn to say “no.” Don’t buy something you don’t want to buy or give money you don’t want to give – even if it’s to a family member.
If you or a senior loved one are planning for the future, consider a power of attorney for when the senior is incapable of handling financial matters on their own. A power of attorney is a legal document that gives a person of choice the authority to manage the senior’s finances and make decisions about properties and assets on their behalf.
Be sure to choose someone who has the senior’s best interest at heart, whether it’s a relative, partner or close friend. The senior can also assign multiple people to the power of attorney.
If you or your loved one can’t think of someone to appoint to your power of attorney, you can apply to have a professional representative through the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee in your province.
4. BMO is working to prevent financial abuse against seniors
BMO employees question suspicious requests and look for signs of abuse, but it starts with you.
“Your bank is looking out for you, but it’s just as important that you look out for yourself,” says Kayla. As a Customer Advocacy Consultant, Kayla helps some of BMO’s most vulnerable customers navigate challenging banking experiences.
“A few years ago, an elderly customer walked into a BMO branch and asked to wire funds to his new girlfriend's account in another state. This wasn't the first of these wire transfers, and although the request seemed harmless at first, the branch manager had her suspicions," recalls Kayla.
The customer showed signs of hesitation, and his requests weren't consistent with his previous banking patterns, which alerted the branch manager to the possibility of fraud. After looking into the customer’s account activity and asking a few questions, the branch manager was able to connect the dots. He noticed a change in the customer’s spending behavior that started around the time he met his girlfriend. The manager suspected that this customer might be being scammed into sending large sums of money to his new partner.
In the end, BMO conducted a thorough investigation and was able to confirm the manager's suspicions and stop any further money transfers. BMOthen collaborated with community support organizations and the local authorities to protect this customer going forward.
“The customer was living alone with no family or friends nearby. If it weren't for the bank’s quick action, he may have lost a significant amount of savings,” explains Kayla.
Scams like this aren’t uncommon. Be sure you know who to talk to in the unfortunate event you or your loved one fall victim to abuse. It’s also a good idea to involve the senior’s bank in the conversation as soon as possible.
Look out for grandparent scams
Grandparent scams take place when the victim, who is usually an older person, receives an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be their grandchild or a loved one in distress. Scammers may also identify themselves as a member of the criminal justice system, such as police officers, lawyers, bailiffs, or bail couriers. They falsely claim that the victim’s loved one is in police custody due to a specific incident and need funds for that person to be released. They may even send someone to the victim’s home to collect the money.Grandparent scams warning signs:
- A request from an unsolicited source to help a loved one — usually with a tight deadline.
- An unexpected request from someone claiming to be a grandchild or family member (or someone assisting a family member) from an unfamiliar phone number or email address.
- The request is for funds via courier, gift card, wire service, or other form of payment that is unusual for the type of emergency. Bail, and payment for other similar high urgency charges, is never accepted in any of these forms.
How to protect yourself against grandparent signs:
- Don't trust unknown, unfamiliar callers. Even if a caller claims that someone you care about is in trouble, hang up. Take a moment to contact that person before engaging. If you cannot reach those you know, any incarceration can be confirmed by contacting the arresting police department.
- Think before you pay. Bail, and many other charges that come with high urgency, are never paid via courier, gift card, or wire service. If someone is asking you make a payment in one of these manners, stop to analyze if this is a scam before proceeding.
Education is key
Read our brochure Protecting Yourself from Scams to learn about current scams out there, and how to protect yourself from them and contact us if you have any questions, need clarification on your finances or want to report fraud.
