CFPB Issues Advisory on Elder Abuse

March 23, 2016

On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, the CFPB issued an advisory and a report with recommendations for banks and credit unions on how to prevent, recognize, report, and respond to financial exploitation of older Americans.  According to the Bureau, financial exploitation, the illegal or improper use of a person’s funds, property or assets, is the most common form of elder abuse and costs seniors billions of dollars each year.

 

The Bureau recommended that financial institutions consider training staff to recognize abuse, using fraud detection technologies, offering age-friendly services and reporting suspicious activity to authorities.

 

“This action gives financial institutions best practices and tools to protect older consumers from financial abuse,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a press release.  “When seniors fall prey to a scam by a stranger or to theft by a family member, they may be too embarrassed or too frail to report it. Banks and credit unions are uniquely positioned to look out for older Americans and take action to protect them.”