Program offers tips to recognize elder abuse, neglect
ST. MARYS — One in nine adults over the age of 60 fall victim to elder abuse each year in the United States and 90% of abusers are close family and friends.
Sylvia Pla- Raith, director of the Ohio Attorney General’s Elder Justice Initiative, shared those statistics and more during the “How to Recognize and Prevent Elder Financial Abuse” event hosted by Minster Bank.
Pla- Raith has more than 30 years of experience working for the interest of older adults and elder justice.
During the webinar on Thursday, she outlined the problems that elders face in the U. S. when it comes to financial abuse.
“People who are victimized are 300 times more likely to die at an earlier age than a non- victim,” said Pla- Raith. “That's alarming to me.”
She said that elders get targeted by scammers for a number of reasons.
“Older adults by far are more likely to be polite. If a scammer calls the house, they're less likely to hang up because they were taught to be polite,” said Pla- Raith. “They believe they have to have a conversation and be nice. We also know older adults actually comprise 70% of our nation's wealth. Scammers know this because they're after their money. They're also less likely to report fraud.”
During the pandemic, with people staying home more, especially the elderly, Pla- Raith said they’ve become even more of a target because scammers know that they’re home and are more likely to answer the phone.
“In some situations we're making it easier because the person is home and isolated from others. We're creating a climate where the bad guys have easier access to the victims,” she said. “I’m very concerned when we go back to normal that we're actually going to find out that more people have been victimized during this COVID.”
There are a handful of ways that elders can get targeted including phone calls, websites, emails, door- to- door solicitation and social media.
“How do bad guys get you? You have to be careful with social media,” said Pla- Raith. “We have to watch what we post on Facebook because sometimes we post just enough information for scammers to pick on and when they call an elder up, they actually have the information about the family.”
One in nine adults over the age of 60 fall victim to elder abuse each year.
“The research isn't exact science because we don't have good data because there's not a uniform system that records elder abuse in Ohio,” said PlaRaith. “But experts believe one in nine adults actually fall victim.”
Pla- Raith said that only one in 15 cases are actually reported to authorities and that 90% of elder abuse is family members or friends. “In the state of Ohio, we had over 30,000 reports of elder abuse,” she said. “If we use that number — 1- in- 15 — we know there's a ton more of other cases that are not being reported. It's important to recognize it so we can get some help and we can deter it from happening again.”
If you believe that an adult age 60 or older has suffered abuse, neglect or exploitation locally, you may file a report with the Auglaize County Department of Job and Family services or you can call them at 567- 242- 2700. You can also call 1- 855- OHIOAPS ( 1- 855- 644- 6277) tollfree 24/ 7.
When reporting, make sure to include the name, address and approximate age of the person; the name and address of the person responsible for the victim’s care; the reason that’s suspected abuse or neglect is happening and any other known information that you have.