I’d like to take a step away from my ”normal” blog topics to
discuss something very near to my heart – ending Financial Exploitation of our
seniors.
During my tenure as a Bank Investigator I worked a number of
cases where seniors were exploited to the point of financial ruin. Most cases turned out that the family had no
idea their loved one was caught up in a scam, or the senior refused that they
were even being scammed. Such is the super-convincing tactics of slimeballs who
would prey on the elderly. They’re so convincing in fact that MetLife estimates
that our senior’s lose about $2.9 billion every year to frauds and scams; and
that’s just based on reported cases. Many groups claim they believe only
between 2.2%-6% of these frauds are even reported to authorities.
Many of these scams revolve around promises of riches, like
the lottery or sweepstakes scams. More frequently they are focused around
things a senior depends on, such as Medicare. In fact, most of the calls I have
received over the past few months have revolved around seniors scammed out of
money by providing their account information over the phone to someone claiming
to be with Medicare.
The primary hurdle for many financial institutions that
identify and want to report possible exploitation is State Law. Some laws are aggressive
against exploitation of the elderly, mandating financial institutions to
hotline suspicions, while others are quite vague. Some state laws specify safe
harbor provisions that protect a financial institution who hotlines a
suspicious situation involving a senior account holder, but too many states do
not have this verbiage, leaving the institution to wonder if a civil or
criminal suit could be filed for revealing customer information.
I'm happy to announce this massive and growing problem is now getting national attention. The Elder Justice Coordinating Council a national group appointed to coordinate activities across the nation related to initiatives that combat elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, has 9 proposals for increased Federal Involvement that they are seeking public feedback on. Several relate to developing national resources to help bolster the ability of financial services providers to address financial exploitation.
There's been some interesting movement with a recent initiative between the Federal Trade Commission and AARP as well. The two have teamed up and developed the online resource called Outsmart the Scammers! The site offers startling statistics on common types of fraud geared at seniors plus provides resources for victims.
Some other resources to check out are the FDIC's Money Smart for Older People and the CFPB's Spotlight on the Scams That Target Older Adults.
Exploitation of our senior's is a serious problem but recent national attention may soon create an easier avenue for financial institutions to help end these devastating losses.