Tips to prevent financial abuse of the elderly

June 15 is the world day against elder abuse, financial abuse being one of the main problems and I want to share with you these statistics that are really impressive:

• More than 50% of abuse cases are committed by children or spouses

• Women are twice as likely to be victims than men

• In the USA each year more than 3,000 million dollars are lost each year in this type of scam

These financial abuses occur at all levels, but I would like to share a case that draws special attention and it was that of Mr. Stan Lee, the famous creator of Marvel Super Heroes, such as: Spider-man, Hulk, X -men and Black Panther among many others.

Where are the Super Heroes when it comes to financial abuse?

It turns out that Lee with his great success managed to accumulate a fortune which was calculated between $50 or $60 million dollars, being carefully protected while his wife was alive, who was a hero in defending the family heritage against scammers, but after his death, Mr. Lee is unfortunately exposed and suffers the following cases:

• Lee did not trust the banks and kept large amounts of money in his house, which were stolen by alleged trustworthy people, stealing more than $8 million dollars.
• One of his so-called agents and security people organized a fan meeting and autograph signing event for Lee, where more than $800,000 was raised and the agent collected $700,000 leaving Lee only $50,000.
• In his last days he was practically kidnapped by one of his managers, who made him suspend all contact with third parties and made him appoint him as his sole attorney and even the police had to intervene after he stole a fortune.

But that only happens to millionaires

Statistics show that for every 20 people an older adult is a victim of financial abuse, the average amount that is stolen is $41,000 and the modalities of scams are becoming more complex every day to detect and much more so when studies show that as the With age, faculties for managing personal finances are being lost in the elderly.

Some modalities to keep an eye on:

• The love scam: now that it is easier to find a partner through apps, there are cases where people come only to steal money and when they do, they leave the person. By the way, in this case, the phrase that says: if it is too good to be true, it probably is, beware of very young couples.
• The prize scam: they call you to tell you that you won a prize but for administrative reasons you must deposit an amount to receive it.
• The scam of the relative in danger: they call telling you that your son or grandson is in the clinic or prisoner and you must pay the lawyer to get him out, which is not true.
• The government entity scam: a person calls you pretending to be a tax or health official and asks for your bank details, to supposedly confirm them.

Tips to not be the next victim of financial abuse:

1.- Continuous review of bank movements, routinely check bank transactions or investment accounts of your relative to see if you see changes in their consumption.
2.- Beware of the “New Friend” if your family member who has always been alone now has a new friend who wants to help him with everything and selflessly, you have to be aware and check his history.
3.- Have a will and a financial power, where the person establishes how they want their assets to be distributed and which person they trust in case they cannot move their accounts. In this case, be vigilant if unexpected changes are requested in these documents.
4.- Hire a financial advisor who legally has to comply with the fiduciary standard, that is, who has the legal responsibility of looking after what is best for you and not for him and his interests.
Financial abuse cases are the most complex to prove before a court and the authorities, so we suggest being extremely vigilant. Don’t let your family be the next victim.