Santa Clara County Adult Protective Services received 2,040
reports of abuse of elder and dependent adults In 2002. Of those,
575 were reports of financial abuse – fraud and scams targeting the
elderly, or seniors being exploited financially by their children,
other family members, and caregivers.
Santa Clara County Adult Protective Services received 2,040 reports of abuse of elder and dependent adults In 2002. Of those, 575 were reports of financial abuse – fraud and scams targeting the elderly, or seniors being exploited financially by their children, other family members, and caregivers.
“Those figures probably under represent the extent of the problem,” said Jamie Buckmaster, manager of the county’s Adult Protective Services Department. “Only about one in 14 cases of abuse of the elderly gets reported. In the case of financial abuse, the estimate is one in 100.”
To increase awareness of and prevent cases of elder financial abuse, Santa Clara County Adult Protective Services and a group of 11 local financial institutions – nine credit unions and two banks – have joined forces to train financial institution staff in recognizing possible at-risk persons and situations.
“Their part is absolutely key because they know their customers and they can look for any unusual banking patterns,” Buckmaster said. “In knowing their customers they really are the first line of defense in seeing whether there’s something suspicious happening with their customers.”
The collaborative effort, dubbed the Financial Institutions Team Project, or FIT, teams Capitol Power Credit Union, Golden Bay Federal Credit Union, Guarantee Bank, Meriwest Credit Union, Mission City Federal Credit Union, Peninsula Postal Credit Union, Santa Clara Federal Credit Union, Star One Credit Union, Technology Credit Union, Valley Credit Union and Wells Fargo Bank with the County’s Financial Abuse Specialist Team, or FAST.
FAST pools the resources of Adult Protective Services, the County Public Guardian’s Office, the County Counsel, and the County District Attorney’s office to rapidly intervene in cases where someone is suspected of financially exploiting a senior citizen.
Santa Clara County is especially ripe for financial exploitation of the elderly. According to the 2000 Census, the median home value in Santa Clara County is $446,400 – more than twice the statewide median home value of $211,500.
Star One Credit Union is the pioneering financial institution in FIT.
