VANCOUVER, B.C.—After only 6% of seniors in British Columbia report they’ve been financially abused, but when provided with a list of abusive scenarios that figure rises to more than 40%, according to a new report by Vancity Credit Union.
The report, “The Invisible Crime: Seniors Financial Abuse,” indicates that while seniors may be aware of, and vigilant against, dramatic forms of abuse such as misuse of power of attorney or being forced to change their will, smaller forms of abuse are not understood as such.
According to the Vanity survey, the most common experiences of the survey respondents were:
* 18.7 % had someone borrow their money without their knowledge, or having someone refuse to pay back a loan.
* 18.1% had someone pressure them to give that person money.
* 12.1% experienced an unsolicited work scam where someone offers to perform work for a reasonable fee, then after starting the work insists on more than originally agreed before completing the work.
* 10.1% had someone take a valuable possession from their home, either to keep it or to sell it.
* 9.0 % had someone pressure them to buy that person something or to pay a bill for that person.
* 7.9% had someone forge their signature.
* 7.1 % had someone use their credit or debit card without their permission.
In all, 41% of respondents indicated that they had experienced at least one of the abusive situations listed.
The report recommends financial institutions work with community and government stakeholders to better determine the scope of seniors financial abuse, identify the types of financial abuse seniors most commonly experience and develop solutions to address the problem.
Vancity said it has created a new workshop to help seniors detect and protect themselves against financial abuse, and is hosting the workshop at various branches throughout November.
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