AARP Colorado ElderWatch

Transcription

1 Presented by Cassandra Burton at 2008 Attorney General s Summit on Senior Financial Exploitation October, 2008 Denver, CO 1

2 Colorado ElderWatch was established in 2001 Grew out of a 1999 study published by Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar s Office. Respecting Our Elders: A Statewide Action Plan to Combat Senior Fraud 2

3 Fights the financial exploitation of older Americans through: Data collection extensive outreach and education and the provision of technical assistance 3

4 Provide information to and coordinate efforts with: Colorado law enforcement offices adult protection and mental health agencies organizations assisting older Americans 4

5 10 AARP volunteers and 3 staff who do call intake Between 2004 and 2007, volunteers spent about 20 minutes per client, per incident Between 2004 and 2007 ElderWatch volunteers donated 950 hours of service If the volunteers were paid, this would amount to over $19k per volunteer per year 5

6 Database Elder watch maintains a database of incoming calls containing such things as: Demographics Fraud type Financial information Time spent on call 6

7 Call Center Between 2004 and the 1 st half of 2008, more than 4000 calls were documented Focus is on 50+ clients, but no one is turned down Callers do not need to be AARP members to get assistance 7

8 Clients But so far we are seeing More women then men More who are married than not More who identify themselves as Caucasian than any other race or ethnic group 8

9 Process The first step of the ElderWatch process is the intake Clients call Trained volunteers gather information Offer information or referrals to clients Mediate the case when possible 9

10 Consumer Fraud In the AARP ElderWatch database consumer fraud seems to generally fall into two categories Consumer Complaint Fraud/Financial Exploitation 10

11 Types of Consumer Fraud Different types of fraud fall under each of these umbrellas For example, advanced fee loans, are categorized as banking, financial, estate and insurance fraud 11

12 Banking, Financial, Estate, Insurance Advance Fee Loans, Credit Arrangements Banking Issues Collection Agency Credit Card Issuing Credit Card Loss Protection Credit Repair Estate Planning Fake Cashiers Check Financial Seminars Homeowner Association Problems Insurance Living Trusts Medicare Mortgages Predatory Lending Property/Inheritance Tracers Real Estate (not time shares) Recovery/Refund Companies Unauthorized Bank Withdrawal Warranty Issues 12

13 Foreign Lotteries, Money Offers, Sweepstakes Foreign Money Offers Sweepstakes/Free Gifts Lotteries Home Repairs/Services Home Repair Mobile Home Issues Landscaping Services Moving Companies Caregiver/Family Exploitation Assisted Living Issues Power of Attorney Abuse Caregiver Fraud Non-stranger Exploitation Identity theft, phishing. and mail fraud Identity Theft Phishing Mail Fraud/Junk Mail 13

14 Call Center Accomplishments In 2007 alone, clients reported losing over $4.5 million In that year, ElderWatch was able to recover and prevent losses of over $23k 14

15 23% of ElderWatch referrals come from the Attorney Generals office Also receive referrals from: Local law enforcement Financial institutions Senior housing complexes 15

16 Non Stranger Exploitation Currently, there are close to 300 reported cases of caregiver/family exploitation in database Again caregiver/family exploitation can be: Power of attorney abuse Caregiver fraud Assisted living issues Non stranger exploitation 16

17 Non Stranger Exploitation They are more often: Older Women Widowed In Urban locations 17

18 Non Stranger Exploitation Clients who were victims of nonstranger exploitation report losing over $1.7 million in 2007 alone 18

19 OTHER ELDERWATCH HIGHLIGHTS Since its inception, ElderWatch has been making a difference in the lives of older people Shredding events to educating the public on prevention methods The call center Maintain the website Collaborate with the Regional Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to educate investors 19

20 ELDERWATCH S FUTURE GOALS Increase volunteer leadership structure across the state Expand volunteer call center duties to include outreach and education to previous victims 20

21 ELDERWATCH S FUTURE GOALS Increase outreach into Hispanic/Latino communities Increase identity theft outreach into smaller, more isolated communities Revitalize to include consumer protection tools and interactive activities 21

22 For more information please contact: Cassandra Burton at: or 22