THE SILENT SIEGE ON SENIORS’ SAVINGS
Securities Section
Continued from page 60
of elderly financial exploitation. This is surely
partially due to an increase in actual cases — we are
seeing the predictions of increased exploitation come
to fruition. But, it is also likely a result of recent rules
and regulations that are allowing financial institutions
to report even suspected financial exploitation without
fear of breaching privacy laws.
So what can be done? The biggest roadblock to
finding an effective means of fighting back is a lack
of a unified approach. Because of various legal
issues, the professionals that are on the frontlines —
lawyers, financial institutions, government agencies,
law enforcement — are conducting their own efforts
without benefit of the others’ knowledge. This
siloed, fragmented approach is not effective. The
most obvious solution is to work to change laws
that hinder the effective information sharing that
is necessary to mounting a unified response.
Common sense reform allowing limited exceptions
in very specific situations of elder exploitation is a
meaningful and necessary change. For our parents,
our grandparents, our clients and friends, we must
find ways to work together to end this siege on our
seniors’ savings.
1
True Link Financial, The True Link Report on Elder
Financial Abuse 2015, (Jan. 2015), http://documents.
truelinkfinancial.com/True-Link-Report-On-Elder-
Financial-Abuse-012815.pdf.
2 Weill Cornell Medicine, Editorial: Age-Associated
Financial Vulnerability a Public Health Crisis, (Oct. 13, 2015),
https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2015/10/editorial-
age-associated-financial-vulnerability-a-public-health-
crisis-mark-lachs.
3 Nick Leiber, How Criminals Steal $37 Billion a
Year from America’s Elderly, (May 3, 2018), https://
www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-03/
america-s-elderly-are-losing-37-billion-a-year-to-fraud.
4 Yuka Hayashi, Scamming Grandma:
Financial Abuse of Seniors Hits Records,
(Jan. 24, 2019), https://www.wsj.com/
articles/scamming-grandma-financial-
abuse-of-seniors-hits-record-
11548344907.
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