Elder Financial Abuse

Elder Abuse: Detecting and Preventing Financial Exploitation

The Elder protective Services Program is a statewide system for receiving and investigating reports of elder abuse, and for providing needed protective services to abused elders when necessary. An elder is an individual over the age of 60. Elder Protective Service agencies are charged with addressing cases of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect (including self-neglect), and financial exploitation of elders.

Financial exploitation of elders is a wide-ranging and growing problem in the Commonwealth and the nation. Elders are frequent targets of scammers including strangers, financial professionals, and family members.

The Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project is a collaborative effort to combat elder financial exploitation. Through voluntary participation in the Project, financial institutions and their employees have been and will continue to be integral in the successful detection and prevention of elder financial exploitation.

Reporting Abuse – Protective Services

Bank employees who suspect that an elderly customer is a victim of financial exploitation should notify their bank’s designated point person. If a bank employee is unsure whether a reportable condition exists, they should discuss it with their manager.

The bank’s designated point person should review reports of suspected exploitation made by bank employees and determine whether a report should be made to protective services. If it is determined that reasonable cause exists to believe that an elder is a victim of financial exploitation, the bank’s designated point person should contact a designated protective services agency.

In a critical situation, when the bank’s designated point person is not available for reporting, the bank employee should call the Elder Abuse Hotline, 800-922-2275, or submit a report online via the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

What to include in a Report to Protective Services?

Reports made by the bank’s designated point person to a protective services agency should include:

Elderly customer’s name, address, phone number, age;
Existence of account relationships that are relevant to the report;
Name, address, phone number of suspect (if known);
Description of the suspected abuse;
Bank’s name, address, phone; and
Reporting person’s name.

Reports to a protective services agency should not contain any confidential account information (e.g. account numbers). In cases where the authorities require additional information, the elderly customer will be required to execute a consent agreement authorizing the release of account information. In certain cases, a court order and/or subpoena may be presented to the bank, or a guardian may be appointed for the elder.