Fighting Financial Crimes Against Seniors

“In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network database contained 123,757 fraud complaints from victims who identified themselves as age 60 or older.”  A PEW Charitable Trusts’ Stateline magazine article cites this as evidence that financial fraud against seniors is a substantial problem. 

Financial crimes against seniors are committed by relatives, caregivers, or strangers and, per the article, the fraudulent activity includes:

1. misuse of credit cards;
2. unauthorized ATM transactions; and
3. deception to open joint accounts, sign away deeds, or give power of attorney.

According to the article, 28 states introduced legislation in 2014 to address this issue. These states have considered measures that focus on enhancing criminal penalties, targeting caregivers, and requiring financial institutions to report suspected fraud. The article highlights the following laws passed in three states over the past two years:

1. the comprehensive senior protection bill passed in Colorado that requires police officers to be trained to recognize the exploitation of at-risk seniors;
2. legislation in Maryland that requires money transmitters to train employees to recognize and respond to financial exploitation of seniors (already required for financial institutions); and
3. a 2013 North Carolina law that gives courts authority to freeze the assets of those charged with the financial exploitation of seniors.

Not all states have used legislation to take action. The article says that in Maine the state has partnered with financial institutions to develop a program that trains employees to recognize suspected fraud and report it to authorities.