Older Adults
Experts estimate that financial fraud and abuse now costs seniors $2.9 billion a year and harms one in five older Americans. Older women (who very often rely only on a small Social Security check to pay their bills) are twice as likely as men to be victims of financial fraud, with women between the ages of 70 and 89 at the highest risk. With the number of older adults projected to rise to 79.7 million by 2040 and new technologies giving scam artists new ways to victimize vulnerable older adults, the financial exploitation of seniors is likely to continue to grow for decades to come.
MCRC worked on protecting older adults from financial fraud and promoting age-friendly banking. Our SOAR project connects older adults to resources to help them keep their money and find more assets as well as legal, financial, and housing assistance. This section includes information about Age-Friendly Banking as well as several tips on ways to protect older adults from financial fraud.