How to Prevent Elder Abuse with Deb Martin

🎙️Welcome back to Steadfast Care Planning, your trusted space for everything related to planning for extended care to live well!

💡 In this enlightening episode, host Kelly Augspurger is joined by Deb Martin, the manager of the Vulnerable Adult Office at Thrivent. Deb has extensive experience in elder abuse prevention and detection and shares crucial information on this pressing topic.

✨ In this episode, we’ll unpack what constitutes elder abuse, the various forms it can take beyond just physical harm, and the alarming prevalence of financial exploitation and confidence scams perpetrated through various digital technology platforms i.e. phones, emails, social media.

🚩 Deb will also share key red flags to watch out for, common scams targeting older adults, and actionable steps for reporting and preventing elder abuse.

👥 Whether you're a caregiver, financial professional, or simply concerned about the well-being of an older loved one, this episode is packed with valuable insights and practical advice. So, stay tuned as we ensure our elders are protected and well cared for.

In this episode they covered:

🔹 Understanding the various forms of elder abuse, including physical, emotional, and financial.

🔹 Red flags to look out for that may signal elder abuse.

🔹 Real-life examples of scams targeting elderly individuals.

🔹 How to report suspected elder abuse to the appropriate authorities.

🔹 Preventative strategies to protect older adults from becoming victims.

🔹 The importance of proactive planning with trusted contacts and documented wishes.

📽️ To watch this episode:  https://youtu.be/JK9ElArY4Uw

For more information about Deb Martin and Thrivent, please visit:

https://www.thrivent.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmarquette

To report abuse:

National Adult Protective Services Association:

https://www.napsa-now.org

(202)-370-6292

Long-Term Care Ombudsmen:

https://acl.gov/programs/Protecting-Rights-and-Preventing-Abuse/Long-term-Care-Ombudsman-Program

(202)-332-2275

#LongTermCare #Thrivent #SteadfastCarePlanning #DebMartin #longtermcareinsurance #preventelderabuse

For additional information about Kelly, check her out on Linkedin or www.SteadfastAgents.com.

To explore your options for long-term care insurance, click here.

Steadfast Care Planning podcast is made possible by Steadfast Insurance LLC,
Certification in Long Term Care, and AMADA Senior Care Columbus.

Come back next time for more helpful guidance!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 0:41 What is Elder Abuse?
• 1:11 Common perpetrators of elder abuse are people who are close to them. Usually someone who the elder person trusts.
• 1:20 The Elder Justice act defines elder abuse as knowing infliction of physical or psychological harm, or the knowing deprivation of goods or services that are necessary to meet the essential needs, or to avoid physical or psychological harm.
• 2:18 There can be lots of different types of abuse. It's not just physical. I mean, you even mentioned financial, right?
• 2:30 What is financial elder abuse?
• 2:59 Who typically are the perpetrators of this abuse? Is it usually professionals, family, a combination?
• 3:53 Tell us about red flags for elder abuse. What should we look out for?
• 4:12 A red flag is really something that you observe or see that makes it look like you're questioning what is really going on.
• 4:53 Maybe the elder adult have unexplained pressure marks, bruises, burns, skin tears.
• 5:27 Maybe the elder adult hair is unwashed, they have dirty clothes, maybe poor dental hygiene.
• 6:11 If new family or friends suddenly start appearing in their lives or showing interest in that older adult and spending more and more time with them, that could be a red sign or a red flag.
• 7:16 AMADA Senior Care Commercial
• 7:53 Romance scams and confidence scams involving various digital technology platforms.
• 8:43 These scammers play on the loneliness and isolation of our older population. In particular, they know that the older population tends to have more assets than the younger population.
• 9:27 Kelly shares a story about how she nearly got scammed herself.
• 9:57 The technology scams are huge. Different examples of technology scams.
• 10:38 Don't get mad at elders who have been scammed.
• 11:15 So, Deb, can you describe some of the different scams that are actually out there that we should be aware of?
• 12:49 Give yourself a little safety check on is if anyone asks you to wire transfer money, or pay with a gift card, or pay with a payment app such as Zelle, or Venmo, or cryptocurrency.
• 14:04 Certification for Long-Term Care Commercial
• 14:33 If a family member or financial professional suspects elder abuse, how and to whom can it be reported to?
• 16:37 What are some strategies, Deb, that we can do to prevent elder abuse? We know the red flags now. So how do we best prevent elder abuse?
• 17:47 Any final advice on how people can plan for care to live well? really take the time now to plan for your future needs, both your healthcare needs and your financial needs.
• 19:11 Really having written documents, proactive planning, talking to people in your life and letting them know also where these documents are.

Transcript

Kelly Augspurger [00:00:02]:
Hey everyone, welcome to Steadfast Care Planning, where we plan for care to live well. I'm your guide, Kelly Augspurger. With me today is Deb Martin, manager of the vulnerable adult office at Thrivent. I partner with Thrivent financial advisors as a long-term care insurance specialist, helping their clients plan for extended care. And that's how I met Deb. Deb, thanks so much for being here.

Deb Martin [00:00:23]:
Thank you, Kelly. It's great to be here.

Kelly Augspurger [00:00:25]:
Today we're going to be talking about elder abuse prevention and detection, and Deb has a lot of experience in this realm. So, Deb, can we jump right in?

Deb Martin [00:00:34]:
Absolutely, Kelly.

Kelly Augspurger [00:00:35]:
Okay, Deb, explain to us, what exactly is elder abuse? What are we talking about here?

Deb Martin [00:00:40]:
Well, elder abuse is really an intentional act, or a failure to act, that causes or creates the risk of harm for an older adult. Typically, an older adult is considered 60 years old. Now, every state has their own threshold level of what an older adult is, but 60 and older is typically the rule of thumb that we use here at Thrivent. And abuse typically occurs at the hands of a loved one or a caregiver, really someone that the elder person trusts. It could be a family member, it could be a friend, it could be a neighbor or a caregiver. The Elder Justice act defines elder abuse as knowing infliction of physical or psychological harm, or the knowing deprivation of goods or services that are necessary to meet the essential needs, or to avoid physical or psychological harm. Abuse can really happen to anyone. I always say that abuse does not discriminate because it doesn't matter what the person's age, sex, religion, or ethnic background is.

Deb Martin [00:01:39]:
According to the National Institute on Aging, each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected, or financially exploited. In fact, they estimate that one in ten adults over age 60 are abused, neglected, or exploited. Abuse can happen anywhere. It can happen in the person's home, it can happen in a family member's home. It can happen in an assisted living facility or a nursing home. Really, anywhere is game.

Kelly Augspurger [00:02:04]:
Hmm. So I think oftentimes when people hear the word abuse, physical abuse is probably at the top of the list of most people's minds. That's kind of what they think of. But you just described, you know, typical types of elder abuse. There can be lots of different types of abuse. It's not just physical. I mean, you even mentioned financial, right?

Deb Martin [00:02:24]:
Absolutely.

Kelly Augspurger [00:02:24]:
What would that look like, Deb, for financial abuse?

Deb Martin [00:02:27]:
Financial abuse can happen in many ways. Usually that means someone is taking a person's money or even their belongings. They're misusing them, and by that I mean, they're using them for their own personal gain, their own personal use versus for the benefit of that older adult. It can be stolen money. It can be impostering, where you pretend that you're the older client and trying to access their accounts and taking funds. It can come in many shapes and forms.

Kelly Augspurger [00:02:54]:
Okay, and who typically are the perpetrators of this abuse? Is it usually professionals, family, a combination? What do you typically see?

Deb Martin [00:03:03]:
I'd say it can be any, or all of the above. I mean, the most common abuse happens at the hands of family members. Many times in my work, I see this abuse coming at the hands of adult children, or people who are put in a position of trust. And by that, I mean that it's probably an adult child who's been named as a power of attorney or some other individual that the client trusts that's named as a power of attorney that has access to the accounts and decides to dip into them for their own personal uses.

Kelly Augspurger [00:03:33]:
So the people that you probably trust the most, they could be a potential perpetrator, which is really alarming, you know, to think that people are going to take advantage, possibly take advantage of the people in their life, their family members or close relatives or close friends, something like that. So, Deb, tell us about red flags for elder abuse. What should we look out for?

Deb Martin [00:03:55]:
Well, there are many different red flags, Kelly, that can point to possible elder abuse, and I always say possible because one red flag doesn't necessarily mean there is abuse, but it's good to be aware of these red flags. And I probably should say that a red flag is really something that you observe or see that makes it look like you're questioning what is really going on. So the red signs of abuse, you can notice them when you're possibly visiting at an older adult's home or at their residential facility. They may be the victim of abuse if, for example, they become more withdrawn or agitated or violent. And the key here is that that type of behavior is really out of character of who they normally are. So, you know, that can also be a sign that there's a medical underlying issue. So you have to just look at the signs and think about what else is going on around that adult. They may display signs of trauma, such as rocking back and forth.

Deb Martin [00:04:51]:
Maybe they have unexplained pressure marks, bruises, burns, skin tears. Now, as we get older, some of these things happen naturally, but it could be the sign of possible abuse or neglect. Sometimes there's preventable conditions such as bedsores. That's when a person is lying in one position for too long or maybe is being confined to a bed, perhaps even against their will. There may be unsafe or hazardous living conditions. There could be a change in appearance or hygiene. Perhaps the person was always well put together and looking sharp, but now they're looking a little, let's say, messier than normal.

Deb Martin [00:05:29]:
Maybe their hair is unwashed, they have dirty clothes, maybe poor dental hygiene. That can be a sign of possible diminished capacity or possibly even abuse. You may notice that they're lacking in some personal care items. Perhaps they normally wear glasses, and now all of a sudden they're never wearing their glasses. They seem to be missing, or they need assistance with mobility and their walker or cane are missing. These are possible signs of abuse. Other signs of abuse might include unexpected or sudden financial losses or maybe unpaid bills when they were really timely in the past on always paying their bills. And this is particularly concerning if you know that they usually have adequate resources available to pay their bills.

Deb Martin [00:06:10]:
If new family or friends suddenly start appearing in their lives or showing interest in that older adult and spending more and more time with them, that could be a red sign or a red flag, excitement about a new windfall especially. One of the things I see is clients who are calling in and they're very excited about a lottery win. And the first question I always have for them is, did you buy a lottery ticket? It sounds simple and basic, but people get caught up in that excitement of possibly winning. And that is definitely a strong red flag of financial possible exploitation, or scam involvement. And one of the other things that we see in the financial side is when clients are asking for funds from their accounts and they tell you what it's for, or maybe they're not able to share what that's for, or their explanation just doesn't make sense based on what you know about that adult situation. Or another thing is if you explain to them that there are penalties for taking these funds or fees or taxes that they might incur, and they're really not even concerned at all, those are possible red flags.

Kelly Augspurger [00:07:14]:
The Steadfast Care Planning podcast is sponsored by AMADA Senior Care. AMADA provides complimentary consultation with a senior care advisor to find the right care from in-home caregiving to community care, as well as long-term care insurance, claim advocacy, and unique support partnerships for financial advisors to address family transitions and generational retention. To learn more, visit www.SteadfastWithAmada.com. Do you see these romance scams very often where someone's calling, a perpetrator's calling, it could be a complete stranger, not somebody probably close to them. But that has called your client and said, "So and so is in trouble. They need $10,000." Maybe this is a family member of the client. Your grandson's in trouble, and they need $10,000 to get out of jail.

Kelly Augspurger [00:08:06]:
Or, they're in a bind and they need some help. You need to wire money over. I have an older adult in my life who recently, something similar happened to her, and she was totally convinced, and she was about to go to the bank, and I told her, "No, no, no, don't go to the bank. This is a scam!" This is what these people do. This is not right. So do you hear some of these types of stories?

Deb Martin [00:08:30]:
Sadly, yes, and more often than you would imagine. We tend to refer to those as confidence scams because they can take many shapes and forms. You mentioned the romance scams. That's definitely one. These scammers play on the loneliness and isolation of our older population. In particular, they know that the older population tends to have more assets than the younger population. But I will say for scams, I know we're talking about older adults, but it can happen to anyone at any age. The romance scams are really big right now, and they build on you slowly.

Deb Martin [00:09:02]:
They start building that emotional connection, and gradually, they'll introduce themselves and their family, perhaps, and they'll say, "Oh, my aunt is now sick, and we really can't afford the hospital bills. Can you just send a little bit to help?" And that little bit gradually becomes more and more to where these assets are just totally evaporating.

Kelly Augspurger [00:09:22]:
Deb, I almost got scammed myself, like, a year and a half ago on my computer. Something popped up, and it was like a windows alert, like, you've got an issue, something that needs to be resolved. I'm like, "What's going on?" And I was in the middle of work and just completely caught off guard. I. And I was like, I need to get this fixed, right? I need my computer. And so I'm calling this number, and they're like, "Yeah, this is what needs to happen." And I just got caught up in the moment. And then I came to like, "Whoa, what's going on? This is not legit."

Kelly Augspurger [00:09:49]:
But they were trying to access my bank account and all the stuff, right? It's very deceptive.

Deb Martin [00:09:55]:
The technology scams are huge. I mean, what I usually tell our clients is, if you receive an email or a pop up when you're on your computer or you get a text and any of those things have links or phone numbers to call, don't call them. If you think you truly have a virus on your computer, don't react to the message that pops up. Get out of that window. Contact your local technology team, your Geek Squad™, whatever it is, and have them do a scan on your computer to make sure that you don't have any viruses. Because my mother-in-law fell for one of those as well, and my husband just about went through the roof when he heard about it because he knows what I do for a living, so...

Kelly Augspurger [00:10:36]:
Right.

Deb Martin [00:10:36]:
But what I had to tell him is, don't make her feel bad about this. I mean, this happens to everyone. It can happen to anyone. It happens to people of all economic backgrounds. It happens to all education backgrounds. They don't discriminate. They truly don't. They just go for the money.

Kelly Augspurger [00:10:53]:
That's right. And it just so happens that a lot of older adults have probably more time on their hands and more money and maybe more susceptible to falling to these types of things. And probably more trusting, too, and not knowing all the technology that's involved and that is possible. And so it sounds legitimate. So, Deb, can you describe some of the different scams that are actually out there that we should be aware of?

Deb Martin [00:11:15]:
Oh, yeah, Kelly, there are so many. I think, you know, it's important to think about how people would want to get at your information and your money. So, for example, if the IRS calls you and threatens you, just hang up. Because the IRS doesn't call you if you owe back taxes, they will send you a letter through the US Postal Service. If someone calls and texts or emails you and says that you won a lottery or a Publisher's Clearinghouse, but you still need to pay some administrative fees, or taxes to receive the money. Bottom line is it's a scam, especially if you've never bought that ticket or entered the lottery. You don't have to prepay those taxes if they tell you you do, or you have to. Especially if they even tell you you have to pay them with gift cards.

Deb Martin [00:11:59]:
Another huge red flag to tell you this is probably not legitimate. Okay, we talked about the computer repair issues or virus issues before, but one of the ones that I'm seeing a lot lately is clients believing that a friend sending them a message on Facebook or via email and tells you about a great investment that they found out about and they've received a great return already and they don't want you to miss out on it. Typically that happens when someone has hacked your friend's Facebook account or accessed their computer and gotten your contact information, and it's really not your friend on the other end of that. I would recommend pick up the phone or go visit your friend in person and ask ask, "Did you truly send me this message?" Often these scammers are creating fake profiles and promising great rewards or requesting loans pretending that they are your friend. I think some other things to just kind of give yourself a little safety check on is if anyone asks you to wire transfer money, or pay with a gift card, or pay with a payment app such as Zelle, or Venmo. Thank you, I was just drawing a total blank there.

Deb Martin [00:13:03]:
Or even cryptocurrency. Consider it a warning sign. Any government agency or anyone else that you perhaps owe money to is not going to take payment in that form. So those are warning signs. And if they start coaching you and telling you not to tell anyone, "This is secret. We don't want to let this out. We can't let them know about your winnings." If they start coaching you that it's secret, that should be a warning sign.

Deb Martin [00:13:26]:
And the first thing you should do is reach out to a family member or a loved one and talk to them about it. Ask them if they feel that this is legitimate before you do anything else, before you share any information. Bottom line is, don't share information. Don't share information with anyone. And if you love to play these games on Facebook where they ask, "What's your favorite color? What's your first dog's name?" Don't play those games because those are a scammer's way of getting access to what might be some of your security questions on any of your accounts.

Kelly Augspurger [00:13:54]:
Oh, great tip. Yeah, I could absolutely see that happening. Okay, well, thanks for those examples, Deb. Really helpful.

Deb Martin [00:14:00]:
You're welcome.

Kelly Augspurger [00:14:01]:
The Steadfast Care Planning podcast is sponsored by the Certification for Long-Term Care CLTC, an in depth training program that gives financial advisors the education and tools they need to discuss extended care planning with their clients. Look for the CLTC designation when choosing an advisor. If you're looking to become a CLTC, enroll in their masterclass and enter "Kelly" in the coupon code field for $200 off. Deb, if a family member or financial professional suspects elder abuse, how and to whom can it be reported to?

Deb Martin [00:14:35]:
Absolutely. If you believe that an older adult might be in imminent danger. Let's first start with that. Call 911 immediately. Just don't even hesitate. Don't give it a second thought. Call 911 if you think it's imminent danger. If you know someone that you think is being abused, and "abused", I'm going to just kind of clarify again, is physically, emotionally, financially, if you are able to talk to that individual without someone else around, see if you can get them to open up with you.

Deb Martin [00:15:02]:
Tell them that you're concerned and that something's wrong, you're really worried about them. Many times older adults are too ashamed to report mistreatment, or they're afraid that if they report it, it'll get back to the person that is abusing them and make the situation even worse. Therefore, if family and friends step in and address the problem, that's usually the best, if they're willing and able to do that. Most states require that doctors and lawyers report suspected abuse, and several states require that financial professionals report concerns about abuse as well. So if you suspect abuse, contact your local adult protective services agency where the person lives. Typically, those agencies are managed at the county level. So look in your local county and determine where your adult protective services agency is. And if you're really unsure on how to contact that agency, you can contact the National Adult Protective Services Association via their website, or by calling their national number, which is (202)-370-6292 one other thing is, not every older adult is in their own home.

Deb Martin [00:16:08]:
Sometimes they're in assisted living or other type of care facility. If that happens, you may be asked to contact your local long-term care Ombudsman. The Ombudsman advocate. They advocate for the needs of the people who live in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. And you can locate those Ombudsmen online or by calling (202)-332-2275.

Kelly Augspurger [00:16:32]:
OK. What are some strategies, Deb, that we can do to prevent elder abuse? We know the red flags now. So how do we best prevent elder abuse?

Deb Martin [00:16:41]:
Absolutely. I guess the first thing I would say is listen to the older adults and understand what's going on in their lives, perhaps talk to their caregivers and understand what challenges those caregivers are facing and see if there's a way to provide them some support or respite opportunities. Ask questions. If something doesn't seem right, then report any abuse, or even suspected abuse to local adult protective services agencies, or long term care Ombudsmens, or even the police. Use the National Adult Protective Services Association website, or the phone number that I shared earlier and find your state's reporting numbers. Or another resource is to check the National Center on Elder Abuse listings for government agencies, state laws, and other resources that could help you. I guess really what I'm getting at is, educate yourself and others about how to recognize and report elder abuse. And this includes recognizing and avoiding those scams we talked about earlier, Kelly.

Kelly Augspurger [00:17:37]:
Great advice, Deb. Any final advice on how people can plan for care to live well?

Deb Martin [00:17:43]:
I guess what I would say to my fellow older Americans, or listeners that might be older is really take the time now to plan for your future needs, both your healthcare needs and your financial needs. Make sure that people know what your wishes are, that they know what your preferences are, what your values are, and then make sure that those are documented. Get proper tools in place, such as advanced directives, powers of attorney, and supported decision making agreements for family. I would say encourage older adults to contact their local financial advisor, banking institution, or other financial institutions to learn how you can designate a trusted contact person for their accounts. That's really a push that the industry is making to help make sure that these institutions have someone that the client has said they trust that they can reach out to in certain limited situations. In other words, I think of a trusted contact person as kind of an emergency contact. So in the case that the financial institution has concerns about the older adult or has observed some suspicious transactions, but they can't reach the older adult, or maybe that older adult is really believing and they're tied up in a scam like we talked about earlier. That trusted contact is a resource then, that the client has previously designated and the financial advisor or institution can reach out to, to talk to them about what is going on in that client's life.

Deb Martin [00:19:06]:
Now, it's important to know that naming a trusted contact doesn't give that person the right to access your accounts or to get any information about your accounts. It's really, like I said earlier, an emergency contact.

Kelly Augspurger [00:19:17]:
Okay. Really having written documents, proactive planning, talking to people in your life and letting them know also where these documents are. It's great to have these documents, but people need to know where the documents are. And who your estate planner is, who your financial advisor is. So that when the time comes and those people are needed, your people, your family, whoever you've listed as a trusted contact, know how to get ahold of these people. So, yeah, proactive planning, we're big on that in our industry, and planning ahead and making sure that you, as an individual, are well protected, but also your family, too, because this is really a ripple effect. Not just the person that needs care, but then the other people around them. So how do we best protect everybody involved? Well, we've got to have a plan.

Kelly Augspurger [00:20:02]:
We've got to talk about it in advance, and we need to have these things written down.

Deb Martin [00:20:05]:
Absolutely.

Kelly Augspurger [00:20:06]:
Thank you, Deb. Really appreciate your time today. Thank you for your time and your expertise. Thanks for hanging out with me. Have a great day.

Deb Martin [00:20:12]:
Thank you, Kelly.