Bria is a young woman who recently moved in with her aging grandparents to help with their daily tasks and ensure they can continue to live in their house despite their health problems.
While she was happy to take on the work of cleaning, cooking and caring for them, Bria discovered something she was unprepared for: her grandparents are in a bad financial state.
Bria learned that her aunt — who previously lived with the elderly couple — defrauded them out of thousands of dollars and wracked up thousands more in credit card debt. They now receive calls from debt collectors, their credits cards have beex maxed out to the tune of $30,000 and their cable service has also been cut off.
The aunt has a history of financial issues. She once borrowed money from Bria’s parents, which she never paid back. Her grandparents admitted that her aunt handled their bills while she lived with them, but they’ve been hesitant to confront her or report any potential crimes to the police.
Now, Bria is searching for answers. While this scenario is hypothetical, it’s something that many Canadian seniors may unfortunately experience, so it’s best to stay vigilant. Here are some ways to spot financial abuse, along with steps you can take to address and prevent it.
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Financial abuse of older adults
Unfortunately, the situation Bria’s grandparents are in is surprisingly common. Financial abuse of older adults is a serious issue. While financial fraud — such as when scammers try to steal money with phishing schemes and phone calls — is committed by strangers, financial abuse is perpetrated by people you know.
A 2015 national study on the prevalence of elder abuse in Canada found 7.5% of older adults experienced some form of mistreatment in the prior year, including physical, sexual, psychological and financial (1).
Unfortunately little has changed since that time: Of these abuses, financial abuse was the second-most prevalent ahead of psychological abuse at 1.4%, according to a 2023 Elder Abuse Report (2). Statistics Canada cited how the 2023 senior population in Canada was an estimated 7.6 million people, meaning this equates to approximately 106,400 people over 65 experiencing financial abuse (3).
What does financial abuse look like?
Financial abuse can come in many forms: power of attorney abuse, using credit or debit cards without permission, forgery, extortion and theft by someone you trust.
If you suspect a relative is a victim of financial abuse, a red flag to watch out for is if your communication with this family member has become limited, especially if another caregiver is telling you not to visit.
Other warning signs can include unannounced changes to an estate plan, expensive debit or credit charges, missing jewelry or other high-value items, and cheques being signed when your family member didn’t have an ability to write them.
Read more: Are you drowning in debt? Here are 3 simple strategies to help crush your balance to $0 in no time
What to do if you suspect elder financial abuse
Financial abuse can be a high-conflict situation if the perpetrator is a family member. But a wise first step to take is telling the victim that it isn’t their fault. Seek out legal advice even though it may feel like a difficult thing to do — protecting your family member from further victimization should be top priority.
Bria should gather all the documentation of the suspected financial abuse. She may also want to pull credit reports to make sure no other credit cards or loans were taken out in her grandparents’ names. Consider reporting evidence of fraud to the credit bureaus right away.
If an older adult in your family is no longer able to independently manage their finances, like Bria’s grandparents, it may be necessary to get a financial power of attorney. Since Bria’s grandparents are also facing declining health, a medical power of attorney — one that can make medical decisions for them — might also be a good step.
Bria’s grandparents might be wary of alerting law enforcement, since a family member is involved in the potential crime, but financial abuse of older adults is exactly that: a serious crime.
How can you protect yourself and tackle debt
While it’s impossible to anticipate future scenarios where you might be the victim of fraud or financial abuse, there are precautions you can take to protect yourself.
Some simple and adaptable behaviours include: Shredding financial documents before throwing them away, locking up chequebooks and bank statements when people are in your home, annually monitoring your credit report and using credit cards instead of cash so you have a record of your spending. Importantly, particularly as you age, you should never sign any document you don’t fully understand.
If you think you or someone you know has been a victim of financial abuse or fraud, tell someone you trust. Alert your bank and consider reporting it to local law enforcement.
Without reporting the abuse to police and speaking to a lawyer, Bria might have little recourse to try and recoup some of her grandparents’ money from her aunt. If she chooses to pull her grandparents out of debt on her own, she should consider:
- Helping them build a new budget to squeeze out as many pennies as they can from any retirement income they may have
- Consolidating their debt and putting them on a payment plan with a potentially lower interest rate
- Negotiating with lenders to try to lower their credit card interest rates
- Hiring a financial advisor or counselor to help build a roadmap toward paying off the debt
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario (1); Age Well (2); Statistics Canada (3)
This article originally appeared on Money.ca under the title: My aunt swindled $30K from my grandparents’ savings. How to stop elder abuse when victims are afraid to act
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.