Protecting Against Elder Financial Exploitation

Imagine your elderly friend or family member receiving a heartfelt call. The voice on the other end claims to be their loved one, urging them to act quickly to avoid financial disaster. This is the all-too-familiar scenario where criminals use Elder Financial Exploitation (EFE) to prey on vulnerable individuals, often in their later years when they are most susceptible to scams and fraud.

According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), analysis of EFE shows banks reported over $27 billion in suspicious activity between June 2022 and June 2023. The financial impact can be devastating—often leaving families not only financially drained but also emotionally drained by the betrayal of trust.

Types of Elder Financial Exploitation

• Elder Theft – schemes that involve the theft of an elderly person’s assets, funds or income by a trusted person. Typically, criminals will repeatedly abuse their victims by liquidating savings and retirement accounts, stealing Social Security benefit checks and other income, transferring property and other assets, or maxing out credit lines/cards that are in the victim’s name.
• Elder Scams – scams that involve the transfer of money to a stranger or impostor for a promised benefit or good that the older adult will never receive. These scams defraud victims into sending payments and disclosing their personally identifiable information under false pretenses. Common scams include government impostor scams, romance scams, emergency/person-in-need scams, lottery and sweepstakes scams, tech and customer support scams and more. Find out more about these kinds of scams.

Signs of Elder Financial Exploitation

• Behavioral red flags may include the following:
  • Sudden or unusual changes in contact information or new connections to emails, phone numbers, etc.
  • Seeming nervous or leery while taking direction from someone over the phone.
  • Fear or submissiveness toward a caregiver.
  • Person is agitated about sending money immediately in the face of a supposed emergency of a loved one, but the money would be sent to the account of a seemingly unconnected third-party.
• Financial red flags may include:
  • Dormant accounts with large balances beginning to show constant withdrawals.
  • Purchases of large numbers of prepaid or gift cards.
  • Multiple checks or wire transfers with descriptors such as “tech support services,” “winnings,” or “taxes.”
  • Sudden or frequent insufficient fund activity.

Protecting Against Elder Financial Exploitation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers many suggestions to take that can help protect elderly friends and family members from EFE including:

• Use automatic bill pay.
• Have checks directly deposited.
• Encourage advanced financial planning.
• Protect documents and personal/financial information.

At Heartland Bank and Trust Company, we understand the unique challenges faced by senior customers and are committed to providing tools that support financial security. If suspicious activity is spotted on your account, we’ll notify you promptly through email or text messages—free of charge, any time day or night. During verification, our fraud team may ask for details to confirm your identity but will never request your account number. Instead, they’ll ask you to review and verify any unusual transactions. This process is designed to be quick and efficient, ensuring we address potential threats without unnecessary inconveniences. For questions or concerns about suspicious activity, feel free to reach out—we’re here to help protect your financial well-being.

This article may reference and link to third party information that has been verified to the best of our abilities. There is no guarantee of accuracy. Heartland Bank does not endorse companies, services, or products referenced in its articles and is not responsible for the content, links, privacy or security policies of these third parties. Information in the above article may include material from FinCEN (https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/advisory/2022-06-15/FinCEN%20Advisory%20Elder%20Financial%20Exploitation%20FINAL%20508.pdf#page=6), (https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-issues-analysis-elder-financial-exploitation) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website (https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_ymyg_native-communities_preventing-elder-financial-exploitation.pdf#page=2).