Compared to a decade ago, there’s greater awareness, more reporting, and stronger laws in place to address the financial exploitation of older adults.
The issue was not even recognized for many years, says Kevin Hansen, PhD, JD, LLM.
“The first people we protected were animals, actually,” says Hansen.
“We had animal abuse statutes before we even had child abuse statutes. And then we thought about domestic violence. So elder abuse is still relatively new in our concept of this is wrong, we should do something about it.”
(At the time of this interview, Hansen was an assistant professor with the Health Care Administration Program and Center for Health Administration and Aging Services Excellence at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Sadly, he has since passed.)
Financial exploitation is one of the most common forms of elder abuse. An estimated five percent of older U.S. residents have been victims of financial exploitation. In 2024, older people reported losing a record $2.4 billion to scams, a fourfold increase since 2020. Scams using artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are on the rise, with older Wisconsinites reporting $26 million in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2024.
Financial abuse also impacts the older adult’s health, well-being, and family. Victims face increased risk of depression, hospitalization, nursing home placement, and death.
Please note: The linked article was originally written in 2017.
