elder financial abuse

Older Adults Miss Cues That Warn of Scammers

Posted on 12/4/2012 by | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & Savings | Your LifeThe notion that older adults are generally more trusting than younger folks (because they grew up in less complicated, more trusting times) has been busted. New research suggests older people may be targeted by fraudsters because their brains work differently — and less efficiently when it comes to spotting scams — not because they’re blindly trusting. It turns out that the part of the brain that gives off those “gut feelings” about whether someone is potentially devious is less active …

Action Urged to Fight Elder Financial Abuse

Posted on 11/15/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Bulletin Today | Home & Family | Money & SavingsThe following is a guest post from AARP Money Content Editor John Burgess. | Four decades out from his teen-aged check-forging spree, a lion-maned Frank Abagnale bears little resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed him in the movie “Catch Me If You Can.” But Abagnale still knows a thing or two about fraud. What I did 40 years ago as a teenager is 4,000 times easier to do today due to technology,” the reformed con man told the Senate Special …

JPMorgan Chase Employee Accused Of Stealing $100,000 From Customer With Alzheimer’s

Posted on 07/10/2012 by | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Caregiving | Money & SavingsIt’s about as ugly as a story can get. An employee with JPMorgan Chase in Louisiana has been accused of siphoning $100,000 from the bank account of a customer suffering from Alzheimer’s, according to a lawsuit reported by the Huffington Post. The JPMorgan employee, who was not identified in the suit, allegedly established a new bank account for Herman Lafayette, who was deemed legally incapacitated as a result of Alzheimer’s diagnosed in 2008. Then the employee allegedly gave himself a personal debit …

White House Announces Coordinated Effort To Combat Elder Financial Abuse

Posted on 06/14/2012 by | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Caregiving | Money & Savings | Your LifeFederal programs that target the devastating and increasing problem of financial abuse against older Americans will be improved and tightly coordinated, replacing the current “fragmented” approach,  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday. At a White House forum on elder abuse and financial exploitation, Sebelius says a $5.5 million grant under the Affordable Care Act will be used to create a federal elder justice coordination team, including officials from the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). That team will examine previously “fragmented” elder abuse …

Don’t Steal From Grandma – Especially In Illinois

Posted on 01/12/2012 by | All the news that matters for Illinoisans over 50. | Comments

Your LifeHey all, Jenn here from the AARP Illinois Communications team. In this post I wanted to tell you about some of the legislative work that AARP staffer  Ryan Gruenenfelder has been doing down in Springfield.   I spoke with Ryan yesterday about House Bill 1689 – a bill  that goes into effect in Illinois this month which addresses an issue that he’s been working on for about 3  years – cracking  down on those sad,  sad souls who try to steal Social …