Financial Exploitation of Older Adults

For the past few years, we have all heard about scams, spam, and hacks. We constantly hear about identity theft. Here in Central Ohio, another type of scam has reached critical levels – the financial exploitation of older adults.

In this episode, we’re going to hear more about this issue and how we can protect our vulnerable seniors. We welcome from the Franklin Office on Aging, Orvell Johns, Director of the Agency, and Caroline Rankin, Assistant Director of Support Services.

Our primary message in this episode is to how to define, pinpoint, and report presumed cases of financial exploitation. Director Johns defines financial exploitation for us and describes the extent of this crime in Central Ohio.

FCOA has a campaign through adult protective services to fight the financial exploitation of seniors. Caroline goes over more details on this campaign

What are the signs which may be evident? How do we report such cases? What is the process of reporting?

And then to close out the episode, Director Johns talks about 2022 projects underway at Franklin County Office on Aging.

National Center on Elder Abuse www.ncea.acl.gov State Resources: Helplines, Hotlines and Information.
FBI www.fbi.gov Provides information on fraud schemes and how to avoid them.
National Center for Victims of Crime– www.victimsofcrime.org Financial Crime Resource Center Helps victims of financial crime recover their assets and recover control of their lives.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau www.consumerfinance.gov Ensures that consumers get the information they need to make sound financial decisions.
Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov Protects consumers from unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices.
Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force www.stopfraud.gov Investigates suspected financial fraud.
Postal Inspection Service www.postalinspectors.uspis.gov Investigates domestic and international fraud which uses the U.S. Mail.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) www.investor.gov Investigates securities and investment fraud. 1-800-732-0330
U.S. Administration on Aging www.eldercare.gov In partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging