Elder Abuse

Federal laws of the U.S. define as elderly, people who are 60 years and older. It is known that this age makes them vulnerable to those who seek to abuse their status and commit fraud against them. For this reason, the CFPB promotes recommendations to prevent such situations.

Elder mistreatment can be physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse and affects all cultural, social and income groups and may be identified by any unusual activity of those elderly Customers in situations such as: making money transfers for higher or unusual amounts from what they regularly send; are accompanied by a person who apparently is forcing them to make the transaction, among others.

Currently, for example in the State of Maryland, any elder abuse case must be reported to the Maryland Department of Human Resources, and in the State of California, New York or Georgia require that these situations be directly reported to the APS Department (Adult Protective Services) as follows:

  • Maryland – Department of Human Resources in Maryland – Toll-free number: 1-800-917-7383, TTY: 1-800-735-2258
  • California – Adult Protective Services – Toll-free number: 1-800-677-1116
  • New York – Adult Protective Services (APS) Central Intake Unit – Phone number: 212-630-1853
  • Georgia – Adult Protective Services – Toll-free: 1-866-55AGING (1-866-552-4464) – Press “3”. Reports are accepted by phone Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Report on the web
  • Puerto Rico – Regulation 9368 from The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Covers Financial Abuse of the Elderly. The DolEx Compliance Department will be responsible for reporting these cases to the proper authorities in Puerto Rico which may include El Departamento de la Familia, la Policía de Puerto Rico, and la Administración de Seguro Social, as applicable.

Additional resources for preventing, detecting and reporting elder abuse are available at: elderlawanswers.com