5,900 Victims Locally

-by Pat Fosdick, Director of Fund Development

Dear Readers,

Some people say it is the crime of the century.

I'll explain in a moment, but first a little arithmetic.  

Count how many friends, family and acquaintances you have that are 60+ years old.  

By acquaintances I mean all those people you say hello to at the grocery store, work colleagues, etc. Count yourself too, if you are old enough.

Now, divide by eleven (or ten if you mathematically challenged).

The answer is the number of victims of financial abuse that you personally know.  In other words, the number who will be (or have already been) financially abused this year.  In Calhoun County the total is 2,100 victims, in Kalamazoo County its 3,800.

If all financial abuse instances were reported as crimes it would amount to 1/5th of the counties' criminal caseloads.  It would surely be called a crime wave

But, not all are reported; in fact only one in twenty five is reported according to the National Center on Elder Abuse.  The reasons: people are often embarrassed, don’t realize the crime occurred or it involves family members.

Yes, family members.  In fact family members are the most likely perpetrators, followed by care givers.

What is meant by financial exploitation (or abuse)?  Here are examples:

• A family member helps themselves to grandma’s money and belongings.  Or, maybe they are using grandpa’s debit or credit card. 

• Withholding money from an elder and not allowing access to their financial information or refusing to account for the elder’s money.

• Likewise a caregiver helps themselves to someone else’s money and belongings.

• An unscrupulous sales person convinces an elder to buy something that they do not need.

• Scams that target elders, such as the fake check fraud where an elder receives a check in the mail and is asked to cash it and wire the money.  Or home repair schemes that over charge and under deliver.

• “New best friends” who flatter and move into elder’s lives.  They often have lots of needs, specifically for the elder’s assets.

“Greed is insatiable” according to a Chinese proverb.  One could easily fill a book with all the different ways that some elders have been financially abused.  

Protect Yourself

You don’t need to be Dick Tracy or even pack a gun to be protected from this kind of robbery.  You just need to be aware and exercise your rights, especially your right to say “no.”  

We see many cases of financial exploitation in our work with seniors.  We often help clean up the mess afterwards and help the victim to live reasonably.   The emotional scars, however, are not as easily healed; it takes years (if ever) for a person to forget that they have been exploited by someone they trusted.

To help prevent financial abuse, we developed our Financial Stress Buster service to help seniors make the best of their money and avoid the many pitfalls.  Thanks to Senior Millage in Calhoun County and United Way in Kalamazoo County, we offer that service at no charge for low income seniors.

Do you have a question for Pat?  You can contact her at pfosdick@yourguardian.org or call (269) 963-3253 ext. 111.

“Safeguarding At-Risk Adults,” Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services is a nonprofit organization with forty-four years of trusted service to the people of Calhoun and Kalamazoo Counties.  Their services range from helping people balance their checkbook to serving in court appointed roles.  More information is available at www.yourguardian.org or tel. (866) 963-3253.  Guardian is a United Way organization.