Financial Elder Abuse is a crime targeting senior citizens and dependent adults, who may be especially vulnerable due to physical or mental incapacity, and using that individual's resources for personal profit or gain. Financial Elder Abuse stems from a more general crime - the crime of Financial Abuse.

Financial Abuse is defined by California's Elder Abuse and Dependent Civil Protection Act as "occurring when any person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult with the intent to wrongfully use or defraud or who assists in doing so." "Elder" means any person 65 years of age or older. A "dependent adult" is defined as a California resident between the age of 18 and 64 who has physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities, or to protect his or her rights. The financial abuser can be anyone - a family member, caregiver, professional, boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse, partner, or stranger.

Examples of financial elder abuse include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting financial transactions on behalf of an elder or dependent adult without proper authorization (i.e. durable power of attorney) or his/her knowledge or permission
• Identity theft
• Convincing or forcing an elder or dependent adult to sign a contract that results in unwanted financial or material commitments
• Soliciting donations from an elder or dependent adult under false pretenses
• Defrauding an elder or dependent adult so that they sign up for a particular investment opportunity that isn't suitable
• Forging an elder or dependent adult's signature

What you can do to assist if you believe someone is being victimized:
If you suspect Financial Abuse, a report can be filed with one of the following agencies:

• Adult Protective Services (APS)
• Local law enforcement
• Ombudsman (i.e. in a long-term care facility)

Usually, the first agency to respond to a report of elderly abuse is Adult Protective Services (APS). The role of APS is to investigate abuse cases, intervene, and offer services and advice.

Remember that suspected abuse is sufficient reason to make a report to authorities.

What to do if you are a victim:
If you are elder or a dependent adult and suspect that you are being abused, neglected, or exploited, tell a trusted individual - your doctor, a friend, or a family member. Others care and can help you.

In the event you are a victim of fraud there are a several steps that you can immediately take to protect your financial interests. Suggestions include:

• Immediately contacting your financial institution(s) and credit card issuer(s). You may want to:
• Block access to your accounts
• Place stop payments on any missing checks
• Change your Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and Online Banking passwords
• Open a new account(s), if appropriate.
• Reviewing all recent financial transactions and electronic authorizations on your accounts (checking, savings, money market, credit, home equity, etc.), including activity linked to ATM/debit or credit cards. You may want to verify with your financial institution that no one has requested an address, title or PIN change or ordered new cards or checks.
• Filing a police report with your local police department. A detailed police report will often facilitate dealings with insurance companies, banks, credit card agencies and commercial establishments. The police report will also help provide documentation in the case where someone assumes your identity and is arrested for criminal activity using your name and biographical data.
• Maintaining a written chronology of what happened, what was lost and the steps taken to report the incident to various agencies and/or financial institutions. It is also helpful to record the date, time, contact telephone number, persons you talked to, and any relevant report or reference number and/or instructions.

Do a thorough review and inventory of bank activity and/or items that may have been stolen from you. If you later discover additional fraud items or missing articles, contact the respective police agency, bank, credit card issuer or commercial establishment and update your initial report.

Preventing Financial Elder Abuse:
The following tips may be helpful in preventing Financial Elder Abuse:

• Use direct deposit whenever possible
• Sign your own checks and do not sign "blank checks", even for family members
• If someone is helping you to manage your finances, get a trusted third person to review your bank statement
• Do not sign anything without reading it carefully
• Establish a relationship with your financial institution
• Cultivate friends of all ages so you maintain a strong support network
• Become familiar with resources in your community designed to help older people and their families
• Execute a Power of Attorney that will grant financial decision-making power to a trusted friend, relative or attorney. A Power of Attorney can be as limited or as broadly defined as you wish and can be revoked at any time. You may wish to give your bank a copy of this
• Put all financial instructions in writing and be specific
• Keep accurate and complete financial records of all transactions
• Gather all important documents together (wills, insurance policies and bank account information) and tell someone you trust where these documents are kept
• Never give out your Social Security number or bank account number over the phone

And finally...read your financial institution's public website on Privacy & Security.
This site should answer questions about the access to and security and control of personal information the financial institution collects, how sensitive information is used and whether it will be provided to third parties.