A new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report on Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) determined financial institutions are seeing older customers fall prey to exploitation and are filing reports about suspicions.
The analysis examined key facts, trends, and patterns revealed in SARs filed by banks, credit unions, casinos, and other financial services providers. The Bureau reviewed 180,000 elder financial exploitation SARs filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) from 2013 to 2017, involving more than $6 billion.
The report showed SAR filings on elder financial exploitation quadrupled from 2013 to 2017. In 2017, financial institutions filed 63,500 SARs reporting elder financial abuse and the SARs represent a fraction of the actual 3.5 million incidents of elder financial exploitation estimated to have happened that year. The report also found that elder financial exploitation is not just happening at banks or credit unions and that older adults ages 70 to 79 lost on average $43,300. Additionally, fewer than one-third of elder financial exploitation SARs specify that the financial institution reported the activity to adult protective services, law enforcement, or other authorities.
As a means of assisting efforts to aid senior consumers in need, officials are recommending sharing Money Smart for Older Adults guide with those in your community. The initiative is an elder financial exploitation awareness and prevention program the Bureau created with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).