Although elder abuse might be more commonly associated with physical harm, financial exploitation is also quite common. Scams that target the elderly can take many forms, most of which are based on lies or half-truths. Securities fraud against this age group may only get worse as the number of New York residents who are over the age of 65 continues to grow.
The 2010 Elder Justice Act protects the elderly from financial exploitation. Financial exploitation includes things like using an elderly person’s money for personal or monetary benefit, gain or profit. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, these adults lose an estimated $2.9 billion to financial exploitation each and every year.
As adults who are already over the age of 65 continue to celebrate more birthdays, many still have considerably more assets than younger generations thanks to decades of saving for retirement. Diminished mental capacity can be a problem, though, making it difficult to properly manage those assets. This is why so many scams target these adults. They may be persuaded or even easily talked into making poor financial decisions disguised as investments.
People over the age of 65 are expected to make up 20% of the U.S. population by 2030, and the population of those over the age of 85 is growing faster than any other. This means that there will soon be many more vulnerable adults in New York. When one of these adults falls victim to securities fraud and financial exploitation, it may be necessary to take action in order to recover losses.