Protecting an Elderly Relative's Finances
Launch library · evergreen read
Older adults are genuinely disproportionately targeted by financial scams of many kinds, sometimes due to less familiarity with newer technology, and sometimes simply because scammers perceive them, often wrongly, as being more trusting of unsolicited calls and unexpected requests for information or a spare bank transfer.
Regular, casual conversations about finances, without ever being intrusive or implying any real lack of trust, help family members notice early if something seems genuinely off, such as unusual withdrawals or a new, unfamiliar contact suddenly taking an active interest in an older relative's money.
Setting up transaction alerts on accounts, with an older relative's full consent, can help both them and a trusted family member notice unusual activity quickly, without requiring genuinely constant, active monitoring of every single transaction that occurs on any given ordinary, otherwise entirely quiet day.
Encouraging a consistent habit of checking with a trusted family member before making any significant, unexpected financial decision gives an older relative a built-in pause that scammers specifically and deliberately try to prevent from ever genuinely happening at all, right from the very first instance.