The pandemic is bringing up how isolation could be contributing to a form of elder abuse.
Deborah Gillis, senior legal counsel at the Financial and Consumer Services Commission, said the theme of this year’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day can highlight how elders suffer from financial abuse.
“We’re really focusing on this year, isolation in older adults and how isolation can sometimes lead to financial exploitation,” she said.
Gillis said the commission is sharing an online guide to encourage connections with seniors such as: scheduling regular telephone calls or virtual calls with loved ones; assisting with getting groceries or medications and having physically distanced visits when dropping these items off.
“We have a lot of questions when we’re doing outreach here at FCNB about what financial exploitation what financial abuse is. Really, it’s just misuse of an older persons’ money and property by coercion or other means,” she said.
Gillis recommends discussing with seniors the common frauds and scams stemming from the pandemic.
Seniors are also advised to be mindful of other family members or people in their lives who may have become financially strapped due to circumstances caused by the pandemic and who could attempt to take financial advantage of them. In many cases, the perpetrators of senior financial abuse are trusted family members and friends.
“Some of the signs might be an overly protective friend, a fear or sudden change in the feeling about someone, missed bill payments by someone who’s previously been able to pay all of their bills, or perhaps a change in appearance,” she said.
Twenty per cent of New Brunswick’s population is included in the senior age group.
