UNITED STATES – National, state, local and tribal leaders recognize Saturday, June 15, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, an event to promote awareness of elder abuse and ways to prevent it.
Elder abuse is any act that knowingly, intentionally, or through negligence causes or creates a serious risk of harm to an older person by a family member, caregiver, or another person in a relationship of trust. Such harm can be financial, physical, sexual or psychological.
Since 2006, June 15 has been observed as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day to promote awareness and increase understanding of the many forms of elder abuse, as well as the resources available to those in need. risk.
“A recent study found that one in ten older Americans is a victim of some type of abuse each year,” said United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. This fact is especially worrying since the population of people aged 60 and older is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.
Highlighting the partnership between law enforcement and the public, U.S. Attorney Ramsdell emphasized the importance of awareness and education.
“In observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the District of South Dakota reaffirms its commitment to working with federal, tribal, state and local community partners to end elder abuse in all its forms “Ramsdell said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota will continue to use all available tools to prevent and combat elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.”
The Department of Justice maintains several programs and initiatives to combat elder abuse. The Transnational Elder Fraud Task Force brings together federal and state agencies working collaboratively to investigate and prosecute foreign-based schemes that target older Americans.
In addition to aggressively investigating the individuals, organizations, and networks responsible for these crimes, this initiative provides the public with information to protect themselves against traditional scams, such as tech support fraud, as well as trending schemes, such as romance scams.
By using one scam to perpetrate or conceal another, some scammers rely on money mules to move the proceeds of their illegal activity. Taking advantage of the goodwill or financial vulnerability of their targets, scammers recruit people, often elderly victims, to participate in schemes to move money in a way that goes undetected.
The Money Mule Initiative identifies and addresses money mule activity to disrupt these fraud schemes and helps individuals recognize and avoid participating in the perpetuation of fraud.
To help seniors and their families identify and avoid fraudulent activity, the Department of Justice provides Senior Scam Alert with information about the tactics used in specific schemes. Common scams include the following:
- In romance scams, scammers use dating sites, social networking sites, and chat rooms to meet potential victims. They create fake profiles to build online relationships and eventually convince people to send money in the name of love. Some even make wedding plans before disappearing with the money. An online love interest asking for money is almost certainly a scammer.
- Social Security Administration Imposter Scams. Scammers pose as government administrators and falsely report suspicious activity to request that victims provide their Social Security numbers for confirmation.
- Tech support scams. Scammers contact victims, sometimes through Internet pop-up messages, to warn them of non-existent computer problems, ask them to give them remote access to their computer and identify a non-existent problem, and then demand large sums of money for unnecessary services. .
- Lottery scams. Telemarketers falsely notify victims that they have won a sweepstakes and tell them that they must first pay shipping fees, insurance, customs duties, or taxes before they can claim their prizes.
- IRS scams. The callers claim to be IRS employees and tell victims that they owe the IRS money, which must be paid immediately via wire transfer or stored value card, such as a gift card. Victims who refuse to cooperate are threatened with arrest, deportation, or suspension of their commercial or driver’s license.
According to the United Nations, elder abuse can increase during the chaos of emergencies like pandemics or natural disasters. The UN says the 2024 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day calls on governments and other key actors to prioritize the safety of older people in emergency preparedness and response strategies.
To learn more about the Department of Justice’s elder justice efforts, visit the Elder Justice Initiative page.
To report elder fraud, contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD11 or 1-833-372-8311 or visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3. gov.
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