title: Financial exploitation of older persons: challenges and opportunities to identify, prevent, and address it in the United States.
abstract: Financial exploitation is a recognized social problem of unknown, though likely increasing, magnitude. It can occur through numerous methods, including the misuse of powers of attorney and guardianship, illegal transfers of property, and outright fraud and theft. Financial crimes against older persons are difficult to address because they often go unreported. This paper provides a summary of findings from a study of financial exploitation of older persons. We review what is known about the nature and scope of financial exploitation of older persons and describe barriers to addressing the problem. We also identify gaps in knowledge, discuss current methods for addressing financial exploitation, and provide recommendations and suggested policy approaches for prevention and remediation.
authors.affiliation: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, PO Box 12194, RTP, NC 27709-2194, USA. rabiner@rti.org
authors.forename: Donna J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Rabiner
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Keeffe
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology