Financial elder abuse is the illegal or improper use of an older adult’s money, property, or assets, most often by someone the victim knows and trusts. In 2025, more than 201,000 victims age 60 and older reported losses of over $7.7 billion to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, and financial institutions flagged roughly $27 billion in suspected elder exploitation through 155,000 suspicious activity reports in a single twelve-month period.1FBI IC3. Elder Fraud Tri-fold2FinCEN. FinCEN Issues Analysis on Elder Financial Exploitation Those numbers only count reported cases. The good news is that the legal tools to stop the theft, recover money, and punish the abuser are stronger and faster than most families realize.
What Financial Elder Abuse Looks Like
The pattern most people picture is a stranger running a scam: a fake sweepstakes, a fraudulent investment, the “grandchild in jail” phone call, a romance scheme that drains six figures from a socially isolated widow, or a contractor charging for home repairs that never happen. These are all real and account for a large share of total dollar losses.
But the more common source of harm is closer to home. Unauthorized withdrawals from an elder’s bank account. A caregiver or relative added to a signature card and then draining it. Property titles quietly transferred. Wills, trusts, or beneficiary designations changed under pressure, often while the elder’s cognitive capacity is slipping. Forged signatures on checks, deeds, or credit card applications.
A recurring vehicle for all of this is the durable power of attorney. The person appointed to manage the elder’s finances redirects money to themselves instead of using it for the elder’s care. Multiple state statutes define this breach of fiduciary duty as a specific form of financial exploitation.3Elder Justice Initiative. Elder Abuse and Elder Financial Exploitation Statutes
Warning Signs to Watch For
The Department of Justice identifies several red flags that suggest exploitation is happening:4Elder Justice Initiative. Financial Exploitation
- Large or frequent withdrawals that don’t match the elder’s usual spending, especially when someone else accompanies them to the bank.
- A new name recently added to a bank signature card or account, without a clear reason.
- Sudden changes to a will, trust, or power of attorney, particularly when the elder has cognitive limitations.
- Cash, jewelry, or other valuables disappearing without explanation.
- Utilities being shut off or medical bills piling up despite adequate income or savings.
- Previously uninvolved relatives or new acquaintances suddenly asserting control over finances or property.
- Signatures on financial documents that don’t match the elder’s handwriting.
Any single sign warrants a closer look. When several appear together, the situation almost certainly needs outside help.
Who Typically Commits It
Family members are the most common perpetrators. Research on calls to elder abuse hotlines found relatives identified as the alleged abusers in nearly half of cases where the relationship could be determined, and financial abuse was the most common type of harm. Adult children, grandchildren, and spouses top the list, largely because they already have physical access to the elder’s home, mail, and accounts.
Paid caregivers come next. Someone hired to help with daily living ends up with debit cards, PINs, and account information. Attorneys, financial advisors, and professional fiduciaries occasionally exploit the authority granted to them. Stranger-run scams cause enormous aggregate losses, but family-perpetrated abuse tends to run longer before anyone intervenes, because victims are reluctant to turn in someone they love.
How to Report Financial Elder Abuse
Every state operates an Adult Protective Services (APS) program that accepts reports from anyone. You do not need to be a family member, a professional, or an eyewitness. The fastest route to the correct local APS office is the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116, a federally funded hotline that connects callers to the right agency.5U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Do I Report Elder Abuse or Abuse of an Older Person or Senior Most APS agencies also take reports online or by mail.
When you file, include the victim’s name, date of birth, and address; the suspected abuser’s identity and relationship to the elder; and specific transactions or events that raised the concern, with dates and dollar amounts where possible. Bank statements showing unusual withdrawals, copies of recently changed legal documents, and notes about the elder’s cognitive state all strengthen a report. You do not have to prove exploitation before reporting. APS investigates based on reasonable suspicion.
If outright theft or fraud is involved, call local law enforcement as well. Elder fraud can also be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or the Department of Justice’s National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11.
Certain professionals are legally required to report suspected abuse. Healthcare workers, nursing home staff, social workers, and law enforcement officers are mandatory reporters in virtually every state, and many states add bank employees, clergy, and counselors. Failure to report can carry criminal sanctions and, in some states, civil liability for the professional.
How Banks and Brokerages Can Freeze the Money
One of the most underused protections is the ability of financial institutions to pause a transaction while exploitation is investigated.
A growing number of states allow or require banks and credit unions to place a temporary hold on a transaction when they have reasonable cause to believe an older customer is being exploited.6Federal Trade Commission. Financial Institution Transaction Holds These laws generally cover customers age 60 or 65 and older. Hold periods range from a handful of business days to 30 or more, depending on the state, and the institution typically must notify the account holder and report to APS or law enforcement. Notice usually does not go to the suspected exploiter.
Brokerage firms have a parallel tool under FINRA Rule 2165. A broker-dealer can place a temporary hold on a disbursement of funds or securities when it reasonably believes a customer age 65 or older, or an adult with a mental or physical impairment, is being financially exploited. The initial hold runs up to 15 business days, with possible extensions to 25 and then 55 business days if internal review supports continued concern and regulators have been notified.7FINRA. 2165 – Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults A proposed 2026 amendment would extend the maximum hold to 145 business days.8FINRA. Regulatory Notice 26-02
Behind the scenes, banks and brokerages are also required under the Bank Secrecy Act to file Suspicious Activity Reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network when they detect potential elder exploitation.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Interagency Statement on Elder Financial Exploitation Those filings feed federal databases that law enforcement uses to build cases.
If you suspect exploitation is happening through a specific account, call the bank or brokerage directly and ask to speak with someone in fraud, security, or elder protection. Naming the state law or FINRA rule by name often gets faster action.
Emergency Legal Remedies
When theft is actively underway, speed matters more than building a perfect case.
Most states offer elder abuse restraining orders that a court can issue to stop the abuser from contacting the victim, accessing their accounts, or entering their home. Filing fees are typically waived. A judge can often issue a temporary order within a day of receiving the paperwork, and that temporary order stays in place until a hearing decides whether to extend it. The elder, a conservator, an attorney, or an APS representative can file the petition.
An attorney can also seek an emergency civil order freezing specific accounts or preventing the transfer of real property while litigation proceeds. This matters when the abuser has signatory authority, because a restraining order alone may not stop electronic transfers already in motion.
Where a durable power of attorney is being abused, a family member can petition the court to revoke it or to appoint a conservator or guardian who will take over the elder’s finances. This process takes longer than a restraining order but addresses the underlying access that made the exploitation possible.
Criminal and Civil Penalties the Abuser Faces
Every state criminalizes financial exploitation of older adults. Penalties generally scale with the amount stolen: small thefts may be charged as misdemeanors with fines and up to a year in jail, while larger thefts become felonies carrying prison terms of several years. Many states enhance the charge when the victim is above a certain age, often 60 or 65, or when the perpetrator held a position of trust such as caregiver, guardian, or power of attorney holder. Conviction can also permanently bar someone from working in healthcare or financial services.
In federal cases, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines add a two-level offense increase when the defendant knew or should have known the victim was “unusually vulnerable” due to age or physical or mental condition, with an additional two-level increase when a large number of vulnerable victims were involved.10United States Sentencing Commission. Annotated 2025 Chapter 3 These translate to significantly longer sentences. Federal prosecutors typically charge under mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft statutes.
Criminal cases recover money only through restitution orders, which are slow and often go partially unsatisfied. Civil lawsuits provide a more direct path. Most states give victims of elder financial abuse enhanced civil remedies well beyond ordinary fraud cases: full restitution, attorney fees and court costs, and punitive damages. Some states authorize treble damages, tripling the original loss as a penalty. Others allow double damages or set statutory minimums that make smaller cases worth litigating.
Civil claims can also reach accomplices. Someone who helped move money, forge documents, or conceal assets can be held jointly liable under many state elder abuse statutes. The practical limit is that some abusers are judgment-proof, having already spent or hidden what they took.
How to Prevent It
Name a trusted contact on financial accounts. FINRA Rule 4512 requires broker-dealers to request this information, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau encourages banks and credit unions to offer it as well.11Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Financial Institutions Can Help Prevent Elder Financial Exploitation A trusted contact is not an account holder and cannot transact. The institution reaches out only when it can’t get hold of the account holder, suspects exploitation, or needs to verify someone claiming authority. Naming more than one trusted contact is safer, in case the primary is unavailable or is the person causing the problem.
Limit the power of attorney. If your family needs one, consider naming co-agents who must act together rather than a single agent with unchecked authority. Require the agent to provide regular accountings to another family member or an attorney. A “springing” power of attorney that activates only when a physician certifies the elder can no longer manage their own affairs offers more protection than one that takes effect the moment it is signed.
Stay involved. Social isolation is the single biggest risk factor for financial exploitation. Regular contact, even by phone, makes it much harder for an abuser to operate undetected. Review bank and credit card statements together on a schedule. Set up account alerts for transactions above a chosen dollar amount. If a new person has entered the elder’s life and is suddenly involved in financial decisions, ask about it directly. Genuine curiosity, not accusation, is usually the most productive opening.