As the nation recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has reminded financial institutions to remain vigilant in identifying and reporting suspicious activity related to elder financial exploitation (EFE). EFE-related losses affect personal savings, checking accounts, retirement savings, and investments, severely impacting victims’ well-being and financial security as they age. FinCEN has previously published resources to help stakeholders combat EFE.

Earlier this year, FinCEN issued an analysis focusing on patterns and trends identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data linked to EFE, which indicated roughly $27 billion in EFE-related suspicious activity. FinCEN examined BSA reports filed by financial institutions between June 15, 2022, and June 15, 2023, where filers either used the key term referenced in FinCEN’s June 2022 EFE Advisory or checked “Elder Financial Exploitation” as a suspicious activity type. This amounted to 155,415 filings from financial institutions.

In addition to filing a Suspicious Activity Report, FinCEN recommends that financial institutions refer customers who may be victims of EFE to the Department of Justice’s National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 or 833-372-8311 for assistance with reporting suspected fraud to the appropriate government agencies. EFE victims can file incident reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission. For educational resources on EFE and scams targeting older adults, please see the websites of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office for Older Americans and the Department of Justice.

FinCEN Resources on Elder Financial Exploitation:

- Financial Trend Analysis on Elder Financial Exploitation: Threat Pattern & Trend Information, June 2022 to June 2023 (April 2024)

- FinCEN Advisory on Elder Financial Exploitation [FIN-2022-A002] (June 2022)

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