Harford The Caregiver's Toolkit

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O L K I T 29
CHAPTER 3
LEGAL & FINANCIAL CONCERNS
• has withdrawals of large amounts of cash
or frequent checks made out to “cash”
• is unable to find credit cards
or identification cards
• has had valuable objects
disappear from the home
• is uneasy discussing financial concerns
• has had new names appear on bank accounts
• receives unpaid bills or
insufficient funds notices
• no longer receives mail related
to money issues
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about your concerns
Contact your loved one’s banking
institutions and share your concerns
What to do if you suspect financial exploitation:
Financial exploitation of seniors is often referred to as the silent crime that
goes unreported because the victims are not aware that they are being
taken advantage of or are too embarrassed to report what has occurred.
Financial exploitation is the wrongful taking or use of a vulnerable person’s
funds or property through fraud, theft, predatory lending or scam. Current
estimates put overall reporting of financial exploitation at only 1 in 25 cases,
suggesting that there are at least 5 million financial abuse victims each year.
Consider the following. Your loved one:
• mentions entering contests, lotteries or
receiving suspicious calls asking for money
• has additional credit cards in their
name along with another person’s
name added to the accounts
• makes sudden changes to will or
other financial/legal documents
• has a new friend, interested person
or uninvolved relative
• has signatures on financial documents
that look unusual or forged
• enters into offerings or provisions of
costly services they do not need
Compile any and all documentation you
can that is related to your suspicions
Report your suspicion to appropriate
authorities such as local law enforcement,
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Warning Signs of Financial Exploitation
Harford County Department
of Community Services
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