By Carolyn Rosenblatt, RN, Attorney | AgingInvestor.com

Most of us know that financial abuse of elders is a problem. Maybe you've witnessed it among your clients or your own family or friends. But just how big a problem is it? Big. Billions of dollars big.

A recent study by TrueLink Financial puts the amount stolen from seniors in the United States at more than $36 billion each year. Thefts occur in many forms, from sneaky magazine offers that lead to recurring billing that the senior doesn't know how to stop, to clever scammers who engage in telephone trickery to get them to write checks or wire money. For rip-off artists, preying on older Americans is easy work. Some elders come from a more trusting time and are easily misled. Others suffer from cognitive decline. Their judgment is gone and they don't see the danger that might be more obvious to the unimpaired, so they are sitting ducks for any scammer.

The sad news is that the most frequent abusers of seniors are the people in their lives they trust the most: their own family members. Maybe it's a greedy son who feels entitled to his aging parents' money. It can be an adult child who never quite made it on her own and who now sees that she'd better get as much as she can from mom and dad before they're gone and she has to split the inheritance with others in the family. Or it could be a mentally ill, substance abusing, or otherwise troubled family member who sees opportunity in a vulnerable and trusting elder. They use what is often referred to as undue influence to take advantage of and manipulate a senior to do what is not in the senior's best interests.

What can professionals do if they see suspicious signs that someone in a client's life is taking advantage of them?

You do have choices. Raising your concerns tactfully with your client is one approach. "I'm a bit worried about you, Jenna," you might say. "I've noticed that you have much less income now than you did last year. Can you tell me where the money is going?" If your client opens up that can give you the opportunity to get her permission to speak with the person who may be manipulating her. Direct questioning about what is going on can sometimes intimidate the manipulator, who prefers to operate in secret. It can help. However, a determined thief will continue to steal until the law or something else intervenes.

Another option is to contact Adult Protective Services (APS) in your client's area and report suspected financial abuse. CPAs should have the client’s signed consent to report the matter because disclosure will require detailed financial information which is confidential to the client. APS will investigate this kind of report by sending a worker to speak to the senior, but the catch is that the senior has to cooperate with the investigation. When family is involved, the senior is often unwilling to cooperate.

Finally, continue to monitor your client's financial situation closely, getting her to identify, and allow you to contact, trusted others to assist with financial decisions. Staying in frequent communication with your senior clients can do much to keep them safer.

Learn more: 

• Knowing When Your Elderly Client is a Victim of Fraud or Financial Exploitation (ON-DEMAND)

Carolyn Rosenblatt, RN, is co-author of Succeed with Senior Clients: A Financial Advisor’s Guide to Best Practices (www.aginginvestor.com). She is a registered nurse and elder law attorney.