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Elder Abuse Most Commonly Takes The Form of Financial Exploitation

A review article published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that as many as ten percent of elderly Americans are victims of some type of abuse. It is an issue that has received little attention until recently. Since the issue of elder abuse was first addressed in medical literature forty years ago, studies have revealed “high rates of interpersonal violence and aggression toward older adults,” according to the authors. They also acknowledge that the problem may be worse than reported. Surveys that were the subject of the article relied on self-reported information from those capable of participation. It therefore did not take into consideration elderly patients who suffer from some type of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. Not unexpectedly, elderly patients with dementia are more likely to be victimized. 

The report held a couple of surprises. One was the identity of the perpetrators. More often than not, the abusers at nursing homes and elder care facilities are fellow residents, not staff members. Another interesting fact is that financial exploitation is one of the most common forms of abuse.

There is an irony, here: those at greatest risk for financial exploitation are those with less in the way of financial resources. In 2000, the National Association of Adult Protective Services conducted a survey indicating that 13% of all abuse cases reported involved financial exploitation of one type or another. However, that report also acknowledged that the figure could be higher. A study from researchers in New York suggests that for every case of financial exploitation that is reported, there may be as many as forty-four that are not.

Unfortunately, there is no reporting mechanism in the U.S. tracking cases of financial exploitation of the elderly.  A study funded by the National Institute of Justice that surveyed 2000 seniors living at retirement communities in Arizona and Florida presents a picture of likely victims. Those who are most at risk for financial exploitation tend to be male, members of a racial minority, have self-control issues, and are socially isolated, engaging in few (if any) outside relationships or activities. Nearly 1200 of those surveyed had been targeted by fraudsters over the past year.

Most often, fraudulent schemes targeting the elderly involve the sale of phony magazine subscriptions, “advance fee” scams, and solicitations of contributions to fake charities. Swindlers frequently obtain bank account and other personal financial information under false pretenses, using telemarketing or Internet schemes. Seniors who made a purchase from an unknown party or company with which they had never done business were six times more likely to become a victim of financial fraud than those who didn't.

Appallingly, many seniors who fall victim to financial exploitation are targeted by family members. In these cases, exploitation can take the form of unauthorized real estate transactions or changes to legal documents, fraudulent contracts, loans taken out against a piece of property under false pretenses, and investments made without the victim's knowledge or consent. Financial exploitation can also consist of simple theft of money and property. In some cases, the family member may use coercion and threats or deception in order to get the victim to comply with a scheme, particularly when pressuring him/her to sign a legal document such as a will, a deed or power of attorney. These types of betrayals can devastate family relationships, damaging them beyond repair.

Most of those who have studied the problem of elder abuse in general agree that there is no simple solution. Karl Pillemer, a professor of gerontology at Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests that physicians take the lead in identifying such cases and that municipal governments create teams of medical, professionals, law enforcement agents and social workers to address the problem. According to Dr. Pillemer, this approach can be highly effective. “The expression, 'it takes a village' is true for the prevention of elder abuse,” he says.

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