Your mother or grandfather get the call. The caller is polite and well-mannered, and they seem to genuinely care. But they are scammers, and they often prey on older adults who are home alone, or who are isolated and lonely. They don’t scam on the first call, or even the second; they are smart enough to know that they first have to gain the person’s trust. They are smart about how they steal from people. It’s why so many people fall prey to scammers. You can protect yourself and your family from scammers by becoming an educated consumer. 

Recent studies suggest that financial exploitation—the illegal or improper use of an older person’s funds, property, or assets—is the most common form of elder abuse. 

Financial exploitation can come in the form of a relative who talks an older family member into a loan, or a financial gift, or convinces them to give them access to their bank account. But it can also be the stranger who calls and convinces them to send gift cards, wire money, or bank information or social security numbers that can be used to access bank accounts. Or the IRS scam, or the home utilities scam, or the grandparent scam…there are so many ways to be separated from our hard-earned money! 

Providing older relatives with information about what to watch for, and the confidence to say NO to phone scammers, will empower them and put them in charge of their financial well-being. 

Where there once was a potential victim, there is now a superhero who exposes the scammer and lets them know they are too smart to be taken advantage of!! 

This kind of abuse is costing older people billions of dollars a year, with as many as 17 percent of people 65 and older reporting that they have been the victim of financial exploitation. Worse, it is estimated that only one in 44 cases ever comes to the attention of protective services or law enforcement. And an even smaller number report the fraud to state agencies or banks. This abuse is robbing older people of their resources, dignity, and quality of life, which many will never recover. 

You can help your family members and friends by letting them know they should: 

• Never answer a phone number they don’t recognize 
• Never give any personal information of any kind to anyone over the phone 
• Be suspicious of anyone asking for family or financial information 

• Ask for a call-back number if they are suspicious 
• Google the name of the business or service plus “scam,” or “complaints” 

If they have already believed a caller and given them information, help them to: 

• Report any suspicious activity to their bank and credit card issuers 
• Monitor bank accounts carefully and often 

• Report information to credit reporting agencies  
• Report any transactions they do not recognize to their bank or credit union or credit card issuers 
• Contact law enforcement to let them know they may be a victim of financial exploitation  

There are a few other things an older adult can do to decrease the chance of being taken advantage of:  

• Give a trusted relative or friend access to monitor financial transactions. This allows someone trusted to monitor accounts for things that don’t look right, without the authority to access personal funds. 

• Setting up convenience” or “agency” accounts, these accounts are set up so that your money is used for your benefit, but they allow a relative or friend to assst with writing checks, paying bills and other account business. Make sure you select someone trustworthy. 
• Make sure your bank or credit union has a record of who can manage your money if you become unable to do so. 

If you think that a family member or friend has been exploited, call your local law enforcement agency. 

Or call the Department of Consumer Protection complaint line at (860) 713-6065. 

And as always, pass it on! 

This article was written by Catherine Blinder, chief education and outreach officer of the Department of Consumer Protection of the State of Connecticut. To learn more about how the Department of Consumer Protection can help, visit us online at www.ct.gov/dcp.