Financial Elder Abuse: Huge Problem (UK)

Financial abuse of elderly 'huge'
6 September 2008

Thousands of elderly people are having their life-savings, possessions and homes stolen by members of their own family, a charity has claimed.
The scale of the problem was "huge and terrifying" with cash and property worth tens of millions of pounds taken last year, Action on Elder Abuse said.
Solicitors say the rise in financial abuse is partly due to substantial rises in property values.
Charities say a lack of awareness of the problem makes such crimes easy.
'Widescale problem'

Action on Elder Abuse says it has seen a rise in the number of people who contact its helpline because of financial abuse.

• Charities say a lack of awareness of the problem makes such crimes easy.
  'Widescale problem'
  Action on Elder Abuse says it has seen a rise in the number of people who contact its helpline because of financial abuse.
  But Daniel Blake, policy manager at the charity, believed that the cases it was aware of were only the tip of the iceberg.
  "What we know is that this affects hundreds of thousands of older people," he said.
  "The amounts of money are in the tens of millions of pounds being taken, stolen or defrauded from older people.
  "We're not saying this happens in every family, but this is a widescale problem involving massive amounts of money that actually mean a lot to older people and has a severe impact on their quality of life."
  The charity found that financial abuse can include:
• The direct theft of money and/or other possessions from an older person
• Benefits belonging to the older person being withheld by family members
• Older people being forced to sell their homes

A report on this can be seen on the BBC News Channel during Saturday 6 September.

Abridged
SOURCE: BBC UK
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