Alicia Abelson
WMAL.com
VIRGINIA — (WMAL) With the family gathered for the holidays, now may be a good time to check in with the elderly members of your family to make sure nobody’s scamming them.
According to a report done by the Adult Protective Services of Virginia, about 44,000 Virginians were potentially scammed out of a collective $1.2 billion. Older females living in their own home are predicted to be targeted the most. About 1,000 cases come to the attention of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitation’s Adult Protective Services each year, and very few are prosecuted.
Perpetrators of adult financial exploitation tend to be family members or trusted caregivers of the victim who have access to credit card and bank account information. According to Paige McCleary, the Director of Adult Protective Services, “we estimated that there was an average of $27,000 lost per victim.”
Suspected financial exploitation of an older adult can be reported to the Adult Protective Services hotline: 888-832-3858.
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