What you need to know about elder financial abuse

Financial abuse is generally described as controlling someone’s ability to acquire or use their own financial resources or manipulating their finances for your own benefit.

This can include stealing money, coercing, or guilting them into signing something, restricting their ability to withdraw money from ATMs, siphoning their money from bank accounts and so on.

As opposed to scams by strangers, financial abuse often involves two or more people who have a close relationship with the victim and sadly this often involves an elderly parent or relative.

Elderly financial abuse is financial abuse directed at an elderly person, usually a relative (like a parent), someone in a nursing home, or someone who lacks the ability to look after themselves through conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

Common forms of elder financial abuse include:

• Forging their signature on documents.

• Forcing them to sign wills or deeds.

• Using their credit cards or bank cards without their knowledge or permission.

• Using falsehoods or deception to get them to sign something against their interests.

• Generally taking advantage of them (such as moving into their property and not paying rent).

Between 2% and 14% of all seniors experience some kind of abuse, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies (2016), and financial abuse is the most common form. Despite this, financial abuse of our nation’s seniors often goes ignored or under-reported, although National Seniors Chief Advocate Ian Henschke said this is changing. 

“I think there’s a growing awareness about financial elder abuse, and that’s happened over the last 5 to 10 years because we’ve now got more and more people reporting that there is a problem. 

“It's a bit like the situation was a few years ago with child abuse. People were not talking about it, and the most important thing to do is to raise awareness so that people know that it happens. 

“Sadly, a bit like child abuse, it’s often people very well known to the victim such as family members.” 

Mr Henschke said around 85% of financial abuse of seniors is committed by family, with children accounting for nearly 50%:

• 25% is committed by victim’s daughter.

• 24% by a son.

• 36% by other family members, like spouses or siblings.

• 7% is committed by friends.

• 4% by a carer.

• 3% by a neighbour.

“Other” accounted for the remaining 1%.

Elderly people fall victim to such abuses for several reasons. They might not understand the technology or might not expect a loved one to take advantage of them. They might not be able to do anything to stop it, or they might be too embarrassed or prideful to go to the police.

“Theft is theft, regardless of whether you are stealing from your mother or your father. This is something we must recognise,” Mr Henschke said.

Financial abuse is much more common than you might think. Identifying numbers of elderly financial abuse victims is hard since many cases of it go unreported. According to Mr Henschke, many cases lead to rifts between families but often aren’t escalated, with only 20% of cases being reported to an authority.

However, we do know most cases of reported elderly abuse involve money, and according to the Australian Banking Association, about one in 10 Australians will be impacted by elder financial abuse. More than half (57%) of Australians are worried about a loved one experiencing it.

Meanwhile, in the year 2000, there were 244 reported calls to the Elder Abuse hotline regarding money. In 2016, that figure had increased eight-fold to more than 1,700.

Recent data shows it’s only set to get worse as our population ages, and wealthier Baby Boomers start to retire. By 2055 Australia’s population is expected to grow to 40 million, 25% of whom will be over 65.

“Inheritance impatience” from family members who feel entitled to seniors’ assets, such as superannuation balances and their high-value home, will undoubtedly make it worse.

There are ways you can pick up on someone being financially abused, be it yourself or someone you know, or become aware if you are exhibiting some of these behaviours without realising it.

It can be even harder to properly identify signs of financial abuse against a senior, as they themselves may not fully understand what’s happening and the nature of the abuse may be much more hidden.

But there are some signs, and seeing one or several of the following could give you a clue:

• The person is sent eviction notices, warnings of unpaid bills despite having the money to pay for them normally.

• Their care might be substandard compared to usual.

• They’re uncomfortable around someone who manages their finances or someone who lives in the property with them.

• Some of their belongings, even bank cards, go missing.

• There are noticeable changes in their banking behaviours, like spending more money on activities they wouldn’t normally do.

• Transactions are made they couldn’t possibly have done, such as withdrawing from an ATM elsewhere when they’re in an aged care home.