Financial elder abuse not just scam related

June 7, 2013

A 90-year-old Auckland woman fleeced of $27,500 by a fraudster who gained access to her bank account recently is just one example of elder abuse which Age Concern wants to see prevented.

The news this week comes only days after the organisation launched its Always Respected, Never Abused nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the issue, including financial, psychological and physical abuse. An appeal will help fund community-based elder abuse and neglect prevention services (EANPS).

In this particular case the woman was deceived by a man posing as a Telecom maintenance worker and claiming he needed to repair a faulty telephone line. While the man was inside the woman’s North Shore home he took her eftpos and credit cards, obtained the pin numbers for both, and then went on to withdraw $27,500 from the accounts at ATM machines during the following weeks.

The woman became aware only when contacted by her bank and she was now distraught by the theft.

Age Concern New Zealand EANPS national coordinator Louise Collins said this was yet another appalling case of theft by deception.

Mrs Collins said it was common for older people to be targeted by fraudsters, who saw them as often trusting and sometimes gullible.

However, while this particular case involved a stranger, in about 80 percent of elder abuse cases in New Zealand, the abusers were related to the older person. In about half of the cases, they were adult children.

As a result it was common for older people not to report it as they felt too embarrassed about being manipulated and taken advantage of by members of their own family.

“This is one of the reasons it stays hidden. Many older people feel ashamed their own flesh and blood is treating them badly, so they won't talk about it,” Mrs Collins said.

“We know that family are very precious to older people, and try to get a win-win result when there are difficulties with family relationships. We help people recognise that older people have a lot to contribute and are very valuable members of families and the community.”

Mrs Collins said the effects of such crimes against an older person were emotionally destructive and in cases of financial abuse the money was often not able to be recovered.

She said older people should protect themselves by safeguarding their banking information and have the confidence to refuse giving someone their pin numbers.

If a person knocked at their door and claimed to be from a company, older people should always ask for identification and, if in doubt, phone the company to confirm the person was legitimate.

Nationwide, EANP services receive more than 1600 referrals each year.

“That is an average of six calls per day about older people suspected of being abused or neglected. In over half of these cases, abuse or neglect is confirmed,” Mrs Collins said.

“We know that's just the tip of the iceberg. But it doesn't have to be this way. The more people understand about elder abuse and what they can do to stop it, the better.”

Age Concern’s Always Respected, Never Abused campaign leads up to World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Saturday June 15.

ENDS

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