Most people are surrounded by a caring and loving family. As a result, the chances are that elder abuse will not be an issue for these people. On the other hand, many people are still taken advantage of by family members as well as scam artists. But the banks can help in a number of ways. Further with baby boomers aging banks failing to stop elder abuse in a financial sense is a real issue. The banks are assessing adding safeguards. They will monitor unusual amounts of money being withdrawn from accounts. They can alert appropriate people. As a senior, you have to tell the banks who they should contact and when. Above all there is a part for the senior and the caregiver to play here as well.
Banks Failing to Stop Elder Abuse
While the banks figure this out there are a number of things that individuals can do. First you can manage abuse of your own accounts or on accounts that you are managing for someone else. For example, all banks now offer email alerts that can be set at various thresholds. An email is sent to the specified address any time this threshold is exceeded.
This is an excellent way to keep track of what is going on in someones account if you are a caregiver. As a senior you may want to have more than one person manage the account. Moreover, this will help to avoid temptation for a single caregiver.
Make sure that there is a living will that specifies who can manage your affairs if you are incapacitated. Set up the safeguards as mentioned to avoid being scammed. Or finding that all of your money has been removed by someone who you trusted. Tell the bank who this person is. Add controls on the account to avoid large sums of money being removed without your knowledge.
Take control of the elder abuse possibility yourself. Avoid becoming a victim.
For more details about managing your lifestyle as we age, click here.