Elder fraud on the rise

A new Metlife study on financial elder abuse estimates that the annual financial loss felt by victims increased 12 percent from the last time the study was conducted in 2008 and recognizes that elder abuse is still an underreported crime.

“The Metlife Study of Elder Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and Predation Against America’s Elders” indicates that older Americans are losing 2.9 billion dollars to predators, 51 percent of whom are strangers, often targeting victims who were out shopping or managing financial affairs. “In almost all instances, financial exploitation is achieved through deceit, threats and emotional manipulation of an elder,” said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. “In addition to this psychological mistreatment, physical and sexual violence frequently accompany the greed and disregard of financial abuse. The vigilance of friends and family can help protect elders from those who are predatory, which may, unfortunately, include strangers or even other loved ones.”

The report also describes the profile of a typical victim of financial abuse as a woman aged 80 to 89, who lives alone and exhibits signs of mild cognitive or physical impairment. Researchers believe that the low social support often available to these victims contribute to the underreporting of crimes and hope that newly passed legislation will help combat these vulnerabilities.