Elder Financial Abuse Spikes 12% Since 2008

Older Americans are losing $2.9 billion annually to elder financial abuse, a 12 percent increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008, according to “

Older Americans are losing $2.9 billion annually to elder financial abuse, a 12 percent increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008, according to “The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and Predation Against America’s Elders.”

• Crimes involving strangers made up more than half (51 percent) of reported cases
• Next were crimes involving family, friends and neighbors as perpetrators (34 percent)
• Exploitation from the business sector accounted for 12 percent of reported cases. 
• Medicare and Medicaid fraud represented four percent. 
• Robberies and crimes classified as “scams perpetrated by strangers” increased from nine percent to 28 percent from 2008 to 2010.

And check out my about.com topic on abuse as well.