Elder Financial Abuse

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On June 14, 2024, President Biden declared June 15th World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  In honor of the day, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reminded financial institutions (FIs) to remain vigilant in identifying and reporting elder financial exploitation (EFE).

In issuing the reminder, FinCEN cited the Financial Trend Analysis (2024 Analysis) it recently performed which focused on patterns and trends identified in Bank Secrecy Act data linked to EFE, which we previously blogged on here. … Continue Reading

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) recently issued a Financial Trend Analysis (“Analysis”) focusing on patterns and trends identified in Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) data linked to Elder Financial Exploitation (“EFE”) involving scams or theft perpetrated against older adults.

The Analysis is a follow up to FinCEN’s June 2022 EFE Advisory (“2022 Advisory”). … Continue Reading

On September 8, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an alert regarding a notorious virtual currency scam called “pig butchering,” because, unfortunately, it resembles the “fattening a hog before slaughter.” These scams are primarily perpetrated by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia where these scams are also called “Sha Zhu Pan.”… Continue Reading

Come January 1, 2021, senior citizens in California will be afforded additional cancellation rights when entering into contracts negotiated or executed away from typical business establishments. AB-2471, which Governor Newsom signed into law at the end of September 2020, provides greater protections to senior citizens by extending from three to five business days the right of persons 65 years of age and older to cancel certain consumer contracts.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued an update to its 2016 advisory that contained recommendations for banks and credit unions on how to prevent, recognize, report, and respond to financial exploitation of older Americans.

The 2016 advisory’s recommendations addressed six categories, one of which was the reporting of suspected elder financial exploitation (EFE) to relevant federal, state, and local authorities. … Continue Reading

On July 25, 2019, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, the FDIC and CFPB will co-host a webinar to outline strategies to address and prevent elder financial abuse.

The webinar will focus on the benefits of collaboration between financial institutions and law enforcement and the challenges involved in detecting and preventing elder financial abuse, including the use of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to combat it.… Continue Reading

On March 7, 2019, the DOJ announced the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases to date. Joined by the FBI and other federal and state partners, the DOJ held a press conference detailing the results of the coordinated effort. Coordinated law enforcement actions in the past year, they said, resulted in criminal cases against more than 260 defendants who victimized more than 2 million Americans, most of them elderly.… Continue Reading

The CFPB’s Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans has issued a new report on combating elder abuse. Titled “Suspicious Activity Reports on Elder Financial Exploitation: Issues and Trends,” the report draws on a non-public data derived from Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed with federal regulators from 2013 to 2017.… Continue Reading

On October 18, 2018, the CFPB will hold a town hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on preventing elder financial exploitation.

The event will feature remarks from CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, as well as participation from community groups, industry representatives, state partners, and members of the public.… Continue Reading