Government Agencies Suggest Practices to Combat Elder Financial Exploitation

Financial institutions play an important role in combating elder financial exploitation and in supporting the victims of these crimes, federal and state agencies said Wednesday (Nov. 4).

In a joint statement, five federal financial regulatory agencies, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and state financial regulators offered examples of risk management and other practices that banks, credit unions and other supervised institutions can use to identify, prevent and respond to elder financial exploitation.

“Elder financial exploitation is the illegal use of an older adult’s funds or other resources for the benefit of an unauthorized recipient,” the statement said. “Elder financial exploitation can deprive older adults of their life savings in whole or in part, devastate their financial security and cause other harm.”

A FinCEN review of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data found that there was more than $27 billionin reported suspicious activity related to elder financial exploitation during a 12-month period ending in June 2023, according to the statement.

The joint statement said financial institutions can help combat this crime by developing effective governance and oversight, training employees to recognize and respond to elder financial exploitation, and using transaction holds and disbursement delays when appropriate and consistent with applicable law.

In addition, institutions can establish a trusted contact designation process for account holders, file suspicious activity reports to FinCEN in a timely manner, and report suspected elder financial exploitation to appropriate entities, the statement said.

Other suggested practices include providing financial records to appropriate authorities where consistent with applicable law, engaging with elder fraud prevention and response networks, and increasing awareness through consumer outreach, per the statement.

“This statement does not replace previous guidance on this subject issued by any of the agencies, does not interpret or establish a compliance standard, and does not impose new regulatory requirements or establish new supervisory expectations,” the statement said. “It is intended to raise awareness and provide strategies to supervised institutions for combating elder financial exploitation, consistent with applicable legal requirements.”

In an earlier, separate report, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) said in April that the number of complaints of elder fraud increased by 14% in 2023, while the associated losses rose by 11%.

PYMNTS reported in June that fraudsters are finding elder abuse of a financial nature to be lucrative as more baby boomers and seniors go online to do their banking.