Financial abuse of the elderly is more rampant than you would care to believe, in fact, a MetLife Mature Market Institute report reveals that the elderly lose at least $2.
6 billion a year through scams, flim-flam, schemes and rackets of all sorts.
The impact of this abuse crosses socioeconomic groups, mind you, the goal is to dupe and deceive the elderly out of their lifelong savings by any means necessary.
The "Invisible Crime" is the name dubbed for this egregious act.
Why? The rate of reporting this crime is less than 15 percent, this is due to a number of reasons, one of the primary ones being that often times the victim does not realize they are being duped.
Many elderly suffer from cognitive deficits; this in turn can cast a shadow cast a shadow on their credibility or make them unable to testify.
The good news is the signing of the Elder Justice Act in March by President Obama as part of the health care reform designed to prevent, deter and support prosecution of elder abuse through training and research.
Business are in a perfect position to help put a stop to this invisible crime, while this these warning signs might not singularly mean there is financial abuse is being perpetrated, it should alert a savvy business owner or sales associate that something might be not quite right.
The old adage "when in doubt call it out," in other words, report it, you just might save an elderly person from financial ruin.
Here are the warning signs: • The elderly person is accompanied by a younger person who insistent on completing the transit quickly, often this could be an elderly man accompanied by a young woman or an elderly woman accompanied by a young man or young woman who seems to take over without any concern for the senior other than getting the transaction done as quickly and as seamless as possible.
• The companion accompanying the elderly person claim to have power of attorney or guardianship over the senior, or perhaps they claim they have recently married and are now joint account holders.
• The elderly person seems confused, freighted, and afraid to speak if spoken to or the companion repeatedly interrupts when you attempt to speak to the senior about the transaction, is a sure sign that something might be amiss.
• Irregular, extravagant, and irrational purchases that seems suspect for the elderly to puce or inconsistent with the persons spending pattern or words are cut off when We all must take responsibility in protecting the elderly, often time their mental state renders them helpless against, young, street savvy criminals.
However, often the warning sign will scream out if the business owner or sales associates only pay a minimum amount of attention.
The exploitation of our precious senior must be brought to minimum; this can be done by calling 911 and don't hesitate to cont the Adult Protective Services (APS) by contacting the number in your area.
One phone call could save a senior from total devastation.