BEWARE OF ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE
One of the problems that is a source of concern within the elder law community is that of elder financial abuse. It is difficult to compile truly accurate statistics with regard to this scourge on our nation's elderly because of the fact that so many cases go unreported.
But according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute losses incurred by instances of elder financial abuse approach $3 billion annually and this figure is on the rise.
The reason why a lot of the cases of elder financial abuse go unreported is because of the fact that the perpetrators are often family members, neighbors, family friends, or people otherwise known to the victim. The abused elder will refrain from reporting instances of financial abuse to protect the abuser.
In addition to cases of abuse that are initiated by people known to the victim, elders often fall victim to predators perpetrating various scams and cons . These can take place in person or over the phone, and of course Internet scams are a big problem today as well. Identity theft is running rampant, and seniors are often targets because of the fact that they generally have good credit and may not be especially Internet savvy.
There are some things that you can do to protect yourself from elder financial abuse from a legal perspective. If you would like to explore your options in this regard, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a licensed, experienced, and savvy San Bernardino elder law attorney.