Helping Victims of Financial Abuse

When victims of financial abuse get to Loangys Sanchez and her fellow social workers at a Bronx nonprofit for older adults, they generally fall into one of three stages: reluctance, recognition or rebuilding.

Most, Sanchez says, are at recognition. They’ve accepted that a family member or other trusted person misused their credit card, skimmed from their bank account or pocketed money intended for rent or bills. But they’re not ready to do much about it.

“They start noticing a little activity here and there, and it’s like, ‘Well, I didn’t do this. Oh, maybe it was my son. He’s the only one that has access,’ ” says Sanchez, director of the Elder Justice Program at Neighborhood SHOPP. “Yet they still don’t want to make a report or address it because [they think], ‘He’s going to stop talking to me’ or ‘He’s going to leave.’ ”

The financial abuse by loved ones Sanchez sees regularly is among the types of fraud AARP New York is working to prevent — and is in addition to fraud committed by strangers. It’s also among the toughest to combat: Not only do victims have to deal with the loss of money, they must come to grips with the betrayal inherent in the crime.

As financial exploitation of older adults grows, teaching people how to spot fraud committed by those they trust has become as important as advising them on how to avoid fraud committed by strangers, including romance and gift card scams. AARP New York is working to prevent both, through education efforts and by backing legislation to allow bank tellers and financial advisers who suspect financial exploitation to place a hold on a transaction and alert authorities.

Regular reviews vital

Kathleen Benedetti-Fisher, who leads AARP New York’s anti-fraud efforts, advises people to be wary of a new friend seeking to gain trust and access to their financial accounts. Beyond that, she says, people should give their bank statements a regular review for any money being siphoned off. Bank tellers can help with that.

Benedetti-Fisher says it’s important to report financial abuse at the hands of a trusted person — not just that committed by strangers — because such fraud can indicate or lead to other kinds of abuse, such as neglect.

AARP New York also says to be alert for the red flags of stranger fraud. That includes romance scams, in which someone reaches out via text or a social media message, hoping to ingratiate themselves so they can ask for money.

Kathy Stokes, AARP’s director of fraud prevention programs, says fraud nationwide is “at a crisis level.”

In 2023, adults age 60 and older reported losing more than $3.4 billion to the wide range of fraud and scams perpetrated by both individuals and criminal organizations, the FBI says. Officials say that due to underreporting, the true losses are likely much higher.

Stokes says that’s often because fraud targets are embarrassed and don’t have a centralized place to call. Also, she says, law enforcement doesn’t have the resources needed to pursue such cases.

Research has shown that older people are not very likely to report financial exploitation by family and friends. A report published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology found that 87.5 percent of those who suffered financial abuse by family, friends or acquaintances didn’t report it.

That’s what Sanchez at Neighborhood SHOPP has seen. Clients often don’t want to report someone they know — whether out of shame, guilt about getting them into trouble, or worry about losing access to grandchildren.

Reducing that shame, Sanchez and others say, is key to fighting the range of elder fraud and financial abuse. Benedetti-Fisher says victims need support like any other crime victim, rather than the blame implied in a question like “How could you be so gullible?”

“This is not a question of intelligence, it’s not a question of education, it’s not a question of street savvy,” says Jeanine Launay, who is chief of the Elder Abuse Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. “It’s really just that the scammers are really, really good at getting under people’s defenses and building that rapport.”

Katherine Shaver has been a journalist for more than 30 years, including 26 years at The Washington Post.

Also of interest:

• 25 Great Ways to Avoid Scams
• 10 Red Flags Your Tax Preparer is a Fraud
• It Can Be Agony When a Loved One is a Scam Victim - But Refuses to See It