Skip to main content

How to Protect Yourself or a Loved One from Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is real and more common than you think. You or a loved one may be at risk.

As seniors age, they increasingly become targets for scammers, con artists and abusers. The epidemic of elder abuse is worsening, and it’s becoming more and more important for seniors to understand how to protect themselves. The first step is identifying the types of elder abuse and their frequency:

Neglect and Self-Neglect (29%) – The failure to provide the goods or services necessary for avoiding physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness, e.g., abandonment, denial of food or of health-related services.

Financial Abuse/Exploitation (29%) – The improper act of using the resources of an older person without his or her consent, especially for another person’s benefit.

Emotional Abuse (24%) – The infliction of mental or emotional abuse, i.e., humiliating, intimidating or threatening an elderly person.

Physical Abuse (24%) – The infliction of mental or emotional anguish, i.e., slapping, bruising, restraining.

Sexual Abuse (2%) – Inappropriately touching or sexually molesting an elderly person.

Isolation is the biggest indicator that a senior is experiencing elder abuse. The reason is that many seniors who are experiencing abuse may feel ashamed or embarrassed, especially if the abuser is a family member.

In addition, memory impairments like Alzheimer’s or dementia may make a senior feel like they won’t be believed if they tell someone. They may be in denial that the abuse is occurring or may be afraid that if they report it, the abuse will get worse.

Do NOT let these things stop you from reporting elder abuse if it’s happening to you or someone you love.

How Can I Protect Myself or a Loved One?

Create a network of trusted advisors, professionals and friends who have the senior’s best interests at heart.

Appoint a financial planner to provide oversight if there are concerns about a specific family member or caregiver’s decisions.

Keep vigilant for signs of financial abuse, which often initially appears as a benevolent fundraising request. Continue reading to learn about some of the most prevalent fraudulent schemes targeting seniors.

The 9 Most Common Senior Scams

1) Obituary Scam – Using obituaries to target recent widows, scammers attempt to collect false debts of the deceased.

2) Magazine Subscription – Company sends free magazines and convinces a senior she owes money for the subscription.

3) Sweepstakes – Crooked contest claims a senior won a prize and needs to send in money to collect winnings.

4) Charitable Donations – Unscrupulous charities take advantage of generosity and memory loss to request donations repeatedly.

5) Investment Scam – Salesperson convinces a senior that an unusual asset like a horse farm is worth a significant investment.

6) Grandparent Scam – Scammer calls late at night pretending to be a grandchild in need of emergency funds by wire.

7) Helpful Nephew Scam – Trusted relative visits a senior frequently and asks to borrow $10, knowing the requests will be forgotten.

8) Sweetheart Scam – Scammer befriends a lonely older adult to get access to money or to be written into the will.

9) TV Shopping Trickery – As-seen-on-TV products hide extra fees and charges in the fine print.

One of the first things you can do to protect yourself of a senior loved one is to place a checklist of reporting agencies in plain sight, along with the warning signs of abuse. Go ahead and print this blog post so that you can have the information at hand.

Resources for Reporting and Helping Elder Abuse Victims

National Center on Elder Abuse (www.ncea.acl.gov) – State resources, including helplines, hotlines and information.

U.S. Administration on Aging (www.eldercare.gov; 1-800-677-1116) – In partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, operates the Eldercare Locator to help individuals find local resources.

National Center for Victims of Crime—Financial Crime Resource Center (www.victimsofcrime.org) – Helps victims of financial crime recover their assets and recover control of their lives.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (www.consumerfinance.org) – Ensures that consumers get the information they need to make sound financial decisions.

Reach Out to a Senior Care Advisor

Finally, if you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, reach out to an Amada Senior Care advisor for resources. Click here to find an Amada Senior Care location near you or call us toll-free at 877-44-AMADA. We’re here to help.

Written by Jeremy Brooker, Amada contributor. 

The post How to Protect Yourself or a Loved One from Elder Abuse appeared first on Amada Senior Care.



from Amada Senior Care https://ift.tt/2KGgdZt
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For Family Caregivers, A New Year’s Resolution Can Inspire Your Best Year Yet

If you are among the 8% of Americans who actually accomplish their New Year’s resolution goals , well done! However, if you are like the majority of us, you’ve given up prior to even turning the calendar page to February. Although it is undoubtedly commendable to attempt to better ourselves by resolving to lose 10 pounds or with healthier living, for busy family caregivers, there are truly meaningful, achievable goals that will improve life all through the year. Consider these recommendations: Find joy. Looking after somebody else is a labor of love, but can also bring about challenges, which makes it hard to concentrate on the daily benefits that spark joy. Devote some time on a daily basis to pause and discover a reason to smile. Bring a sense of humor to your daily caregiving tasks, sharing laughter together with your loved one. Enjoy the feeling of the sunlight shining through the window as you’re folding laundry. And make time to call someone who lifts your spirits for a brief...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dads and Pops: Your Good Health Matters to Us 

Did you know  June is  Men’s Health Month  and Father’s Day anchors Men’s Health Week ?   Celebrate dad on Father’s Day and thank him for all he  has  done, but  also  make sure to seize an opportunity sometime this month to have a conversation with him about his health. This awareness campaign has the critical purpose of informing men   that avoiding preventive healthcare puts them at real and serious risk of  contracting a disease or  acquiring  a chronic condition.   Studies consistently  show the numbers go against men , particularly as they advance into their senior years.   Even with dramatic advances in diagnosis and treatment over the past 100 years, men’s life expectancy still lags significantly behind women. According to  Harvard Health ,  the gap is widening. In 1900, the life expectancy for women was 48.3 years vs. 46.3 for men. In 2017, it was 81.1 years for women vs. 76.1 for men. Harvard...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Does Caregiving Stress Affect Your Career?

Lots of caregivers believe that the stress they experience as a part of caregiving is something that they only experience in that situation. But stress doesn’t care where you are or what you’re doing. If you ignore it, you’ll find the effects of stress following you even to your career and that can be bad for multiple reasons. Stress Is Everywhere Stress is a normal part of life. It’s literally everywhere and it takes the form of both “good” stress and “bad” stress. So-called good stress makes you alert to dangers and can keep you from making mistakes that could prove harmful to you. Bad stress is stress that takes a toll on you mentally and physically. It’s a result of being hypervigilant for too long. Stress Doesn’t Stay in Categories Something else to understand about stress is that it doesn’t stay boxed up neatly. Your stress as a caregiver will flow into the rest of your life, including your career and your other relationships, unless you take steps to manage it appropriat...
Post a Comment
Read more