Elder Financial Abuse and How Technology Can Help Protect Your Loved Ones
Updated 10/2026
Supporting a loved one's finances from a distance can feel like a balancing act. You want them to keep their independence, and you also want to know their money is safe. Elder financial abuse, sometimes called "Elder Financial Exploitation," is a widespread problem in the United States that often goes under-reported. Research from the AARP Public Policy Institute found that victims over age 60 lose $28.3 billion each year, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the financial and emotional harm that results from the exploitation of older adults.
This article will cover what you should look out for if you have an aging loved one and what safeguards you can put in place to help protect them.
What Elder Financial Abuse Means
At True Link, we categorize elder financial abuse into three distinct categories:
- Criminal Fraud: This category often garners the most attention because it includes illegal activities like identity theft, grandparent and romance scams, or credit card fraud. Someone unknown to the older adult typically perpetrates this type of exploitation, tricking them into sending money or providing personal information. Scammers frequently target older adults, and the scale is growing: older adults reported $7.7 billion in losses from over 200k victims to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025, a 37% increase in complaints over the year before. Scammers increasingly rely on AI-powered scams targeting older adults, from voice cloning to tech support fraud, and older consumers reported $159 million in losses to tech support scams in 2024, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
- Caregiver Abuse: This type of elder financial abuse refers to deceit or theft that an existing relationship enables, typically involving a family member, a paid caregiver, friend, lawyer, accountant, or financial manager. Like criminal fraud, this type of elder financial abuse is also illegal, but instead of relying on anonymity to defraud, it relies on trust. Most studies, like this one from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, find that strangers commit elder fraud far more often than known persons do. But while known perpetrators are less common, the CFPB also found that reported losses to a known person were almost three times the amount of reported losses to a stranger.
- Predatory Exploitation: This category of scams uses misleading or confusing language and social pressure to take advantage of cognitive decline, memory loss, or limited experience with technology, pressuring or leading older adults to make detrimental financial decisions. While not explicitly illegal, this type of category can still result in significant losses.
An example of this type of exploitation may go like this:
A third-party marketing firm sends an older adult with memory loss three free issues of a popular national magazine. The firm calls the older adult and says, "You've been receiving [this magazine], and you have not yet paid for your subscription. According to the terms of your offer, today is the final deadline to make a required payment, so please give me your credit card number now." The key phrase is "according to the terms of your offer": the older adult believes he has agreed to these terms, perhaps due to trust, confusion, pressure, or memory loss, and so believes he owes money when in fact he does not. He hands over his credit card information, only to be charged above market rates for a long-term subscription.
Why Do These Categories Matter?
When we think about elder financial abuse and how best to protect our loved ones, it helps to consider the different types of exploitation we need to defend against. It is just as important to put safeguards in place for headline-making scams or major data breaches as it is to protect our loved ones from less conspicuous predatory behavior or being taken advantage of by people they trust.
Warning Signs of Elder Financial Abuse
Knowing what to watch for makes it easier to step in early, before a small problem becomes a large loss. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau points to several common signs that a loved one may be experiencing financial exploitation:
- Unusual or unexplained withdrawals or transfers
- A new "best friend" or caregiver who suddenly gets involved in money matters
- Bills going unpaid, or account statements redirected to a new address
- Sudden changes to accounts, beneficiaries, or powers of attorney
- Checks written as "loans" or "gifts" to someone the family does not know
If you notice these patterns, it helps to review the warning signs that a parent may need financial help.
How to Report Elder Financial Abuse and Where to Get Help
If you suspect someone is taking advantage of an older adult you care for, there are several ways to handle the situation. A great place to start is with Adult Protective Services in their home state, which can investigate and connect you with support, and the National Adult Protective Services Association can help you find your local APS agency. The Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative also runs the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311 for phone support, and theEldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 can help you find local services. If money was lost to an online scam, you can also report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Acting early can help protect both their finances and their sense of dignity.
How Today's Technology Can Help Protect an Older Adult's Finances
Historically, criminal fraud has been the target for innovation in financial technology. Across consumers of all ages, credit card companies and banks have security measures in place to block transactions that appear to be fraudulent. But the other two categories of elder financial abuse (caregiver abuse and predatory exploitation) can be less clear cut cases of fraud. While banks and credit card companies often refund money lost to scammers, there is less recourse when a person "willingly" gives their credit card number over the phone or hands over their debit card to a caregiver, even if manipulation and predatory tactics are involved.
Fortunately, there are financial tools available today that are designed to provide varying levels of protection from the types of threats most commonly faced by older adults. Depending on an individual's needs, you may want to use one or more of these options.
Credit Monitoring to Stay Informed
Credit monitoring services can help you spot errors, inconsistencies, and risks of identity theft on your credit reports so that you can take steps to address them. While these services won't prevent identity theft, they can keep you informed about how a loved one's credit history and personal information is being used, so you can take action if you see suspicious activity.
There are free services available via Credit Karma or CreditWise, as well as paid premium services that offer more extensive monitoring and alert options. All three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) offer credit monitoring, and if your loved one's personal information was impacted by a corporate data breach, they may be eligible for a free subscription.
Smart Account Monitoring for Fraud, Scams, and Mistakes
For the same cost as a premium credit monitoring tool (typically anywhere from 8–35 a month), you may want to consider a financial product that offers further functionality in the form of smart account monitoring. In addition to offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection, account monitoring tools that flag concerning activity monitor connected accounts for things such as duplicate charges, suspicious vendors, and changes in spending and cash usage. Older adults who have a good handle on their finances can keep tabs on their accounts and set up alerts for themselves and those they trust.
Safeguard Spending Before Mistakes Happen
The tools above can be good options if an older adult hasn't yet been victimized by scams or predatory behavior or made mistakes with their money. But if you're already concerned about the safety of your loved one, this monitoring alone may not be enough. This is where an option like the True Link Visa® Prepaid Card can help. True Link’s AI-powered fraud prevention tool identifies and blocks predatory merchants before transactions can be approved, not after they've been processed, saving customers an average of $1,500+ annually.*
Family members can set up and fund a True Link Visa Card for a loved one from any existing bank account (or trust) and then use the True Link Spending Settings to set custom spending rules and guidelines. These settings might include blocking transactions at specific merchants or general spending categories (e.g. subscriptions or charitable organizations), only allowing purchases when the Visa card is present (which can help limit online and over-the-phone transactions), and blocking merchants and businesses identified as potentially predatory.
Like some of the other tools mentioned in this article, True Link's platform allows family members to receive real-time alerts via text message1, email, or mobile app to stay informed. You can be alerted when a purchase is blocked, when spending limits are reached, and when funds get low, and you can review the Visa card's full spending history online anytime.
Help Control and Monitor Caregiver Spending
True Link can also be beneficial in situations where older adults rely on the support of an in-home caregiver. You may want this person to help your loved one purchase the essentials (e.g. food, prescriptions, medical co-pays), but are hesitant to have them use a regular credit card or are looking to avoid handing them cash or gift cards in-person every week.
The caregiver can be provided their own True Link Visa Card and use it anywhere Visa cards are accepted. Using spending settings to customize where the Visa card works (e.g. grocery stores, pharmacies, doctor's offices), family members can be alerted if a caregiver tries to use the Visa card at a blocked merchant or if purchases are made above a certain amount.
Preserving Autonomy While Prioritizing Safety
One of the most important things to keep in mind when choosing technology to help a loved one is how it could impact their autonomy. We know that independence loss can impact the mental and physical health of older adults, so it's important to find the right balance of safeguarding their finances without putting unnecessary limits on their autonomy. For additional ways to help protect a loved one from fraud, learn more in this article safeguarding your older loved ones from scams: a family caregiver’s role.
How True Link Can Help You
True Link helps families and professionals manage and help protect the spending of people with complex needs, such as those living with disabilities, aging, or in recovery, while empowering them with more independence. Our True Link Visa® Prepaid Card and online platform helps make it easier to send money, set spending limits, track purchases, organize receipts, and get real-time alerts.
Learn more at https://www.truelinkfinancial.com/prepaid-card
This article is not intended to provide investment, tax, or legal advice. Before making decisions involving investing, legal, tax or accounting concerns, you should consult appropriate professionals regarding your specific situation.
*Active and inactive cards as of 8/1/2024.
1Text notifications may be subject to additional charges/fees from your carrier
Frequently Asked Questions
Elder financial abuse happens when someone improperly uses an older adult's money, property, or benefits. It can come from strangers running scams or involve people close to home, such as relatives, caregivers, or new acquaintances. The harm is both financial and emotional, since it can affect a person's trust and security.
Warning signs can often show up in small changes, like unexplained cash withdrawals, unpaid bills despite enough income, missing valuables, or sudden changes to a will or account. A new friend or caregiver who suddenly gets involved in money matters or hecks written as loans or gifts to someone the family does not know can also be signals worth a closer look.
If you have concerns, contact Adult Protective Services in the older adult's state, which can look into the situation and offer support. You can also call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311 for guidance. When an online scam is involved, you can report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Start with an honest two-way conversation about what is starting to worry you. Each situation is unique, so it’s important to see what type of involvement is best for your loved one. Fortunately, there are financial tools available that are designed to provide varying levels of protection from the types of threats most commonly faced by older adults. The goal is to help reduce financial risk while helping preserve their independence.
The True Link Visa Card helps families and caregivers set where and when older adults can make purchases helping protect older adults' finances from fraud, evolving scams, and risky purchases. You can even block specific merchants or entire spending categories. True Link’s fraud-prevention tool, ScamWatch powered by RetinaTM is a key differentiator over other options, as it identifies and blocks predatory merchants before transactions can be approved, not after they've been processed, saving customers an average of $1,500+ annually.* In fact, True Link has helped more than 250,000 families and helps prevent more than $175 million* in fraud each year.
