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Elder Financial Exploitation

Elder Financial Exploitation

As the nation recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day every June, the Financial Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reminds financial institutions and individuals to remain vigilant in the identifying and reporting of suspicious activity to elder financial exploitation (EFE). 

Earlier in 2024 FinCEN issued an analysis focusing on patterns and trends identified with EFE, which indicated roughly $27 billion in EFE-related suspicious activity. EFE typically consists of two subcategories: elder scams and elder theft. Elder scams, identified in approximately 80 percent of the EFE reports that FinCEN analyzed, involve the transfer of money to a stranger or impostor for a promised benefit that the older adult does not receive. In elder theft, identified in approximately 20 percent of the reports, an otherwise trusted person steals an older adult's assets, funds, or income. 

EFE-related losses affect personal savings, checking accounts, retirement savings, and investments, and can severely impact victims' well-being and financial security as they age. Among other conclusions, FinCEN's analysis revealed that:

  • Most elder scam-related incidents were “account takeover" by a perpetrator unknown to the victim.
  • Adult children were the most frequent elder theft-related perpetrators.
  • Illicit actors mostly relied on unsophisticated means to steal funds that minimize direct contact with financial institution employees

If an individual feels they are a victim of elder financial exploitation, please take the following actions. FCBT can assist in helping the victims to:

  • Contact the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 or 833- 372-8311 for assistance with reporting suspected fraud to the appropriate government agencies.
  • File incident reports to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

For educational resources on EFE and scams targeting older adults, please see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Office for Older Americans and the DOJ's resources provided as part of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The FinCEN Financial Trend Analysis may be downloaded from
https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/FTA_Elder_Financial_Exploitation_508Final.pdf

FinCEN Advisory FIN-2022-A002, Advisory on Elder Financial Exploitation, is available at
https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/advisory/2022-06- 15/FinCEN%20Advisory%20Elder%20Financial%20Exploitation%20FINAL%20508.pdf

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) may be accessed at https://www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice

The FTC's Report Fraud website is at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

The CFPB's website of information to help protect older adults avoid financial exploitation and fraud may be accessed at
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/resources-for-olderadults/ protecting-against-fraud/

The DOJ's resources provided as part of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day may be found at
https://www.justice.gov/archives/elderjustice/world-elder-abuse-awareness-day