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FREEDOM251

Freedom251 › Blog › Adult Protective Services

How to Report Elder Financial Fraud and Recover Money

By Freedom251 Team · · 5 min read

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If you suspect an older adult’s money or property has been taken, contact the financial provider involved as soon as possible, report suspected exploitation to Adult Protective Services (APS), and contact police if there is immediate danger or a suspected crime. For scams, use the Federal Trade Commission’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov; for internet-enabled crime, also consider the FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov. Reporting can help protect the person and may help recover funds, but it does not guarantee repayment. This guide covers U.S. federal guidance; local contacts and legal remedies vary by state.

Where should I report suspected elder financial fraud?

Different agencies handle different parts of the problem. You may need to contact more than one. Use contact details from the agency’s official site or another trusted source.

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Route When to use it What it can address
911 Someone faces urgent danger. Immediate safety emergencies.
Local police or sheriff You suspect a crime but there is no immediate emergency. Local crime reports, including suspected theft, fraud, forgery, or embezzlement.
Adult Protective Services (APS) You suspect abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an older adult or an adult with a disability who needs help. Adult protection and services. The agency name and structure vary locally; find the program for the person’s area.
The financial provider involved A bank account, credit card, or other financial account or transaction is involved. Account security, transaction disputes or stops, and documentation of the case. What the provider can do depends on the circumstances.
FTC ReportFraud.ftc.gov You want to report a scam or fraud. Federal Trade Commission scam and fraud reports.
FBI IC3, ic3.gov The suspected crime involved the internet. Internet-enabled crime reports.
Department of Justice National Elder Fraud Hotline: 833-372-8311 You want assistance reporting suspected elder fraud to appropriate government agencies. The hotline was identified as a reporting-assistance option in a December 2024 interagency statement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also identifies the state attorney general as a possible contact. For suspected misuse of a Social Security representative payee, contact a local Social Security office or the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213. For suspected misuse by a VA-appointed fiduciary, report it to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Suspected misuse by a guardian or conservator can be raised with the court that appointed them.

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What should I do first to protect the person and the money?

  1. Address immediate safety. If anyone is in urgent danger, call 911. If you suspect a crime but there is no immediate danger, contact local police or the sheriff through its non-emergency number or site.
  2. Contact the affected financial provider promptly. Work with the older adult, when possible, to call the bank, credit union, card issuer, or other provider using a trusted phone number or website. Ask what steps can secure the account, dispute or stop a transaction, and document the case. A provider may be able to help get money back, depending on what happened; repayment is not assured.
  3. Report suspected exploitation to APS and the relevant fraud or crime channels. Use the routes above that fit the facts. A scam report, an APS report, a police report, and a financial-provider case serve different purposes.
  4. Preserve available records. Keep transaction records and relevant communications. Ask the provider and investigating agency how they want supporting documents submitted.

For suspected fraud involving U.S. mail, the CFPB points to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. If suspected abuse is connected to a nursing home or assisted living community, the appropriate route may also include the facility administrator or designated abuse-report recipient, the state nursing-home survey agency, an assisted-living licensing board, a professional licensing board, or the state long-term care ombudsman. Which one applies depends on who is involved and where the conduct occurred.

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What information do I need to file a report?

Share what you know; the CFPB says not to wait until every detail is available. Useful information includes:

  • Dates, times, and locations of incidents.
  • Names of people involved and anyone who witnessed events.
  • A plain description of the suspected financial abuse and any related abuse or neglect.
  • Relevant disabilities or health conditions, including decision-making ability or memory loss when pertinent.
  • Whether anyone remains at urgent risk of danger.

Do not try to complete a full investigation before making a report. If some details are unknown, explain what is known and what remains unclear.

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How does recovering the money work?

The CFPB’s 2022 recovery framework describes four stages: identify that exploitation occurred, report suspected exploitation, investigate, and return funds. The stages may be necessary for recovery, but they are not individually sufficient. Whether funds can be recovered depends on what happened, how quickly it is reported, whether money can be traced or frozen, the investigation, and the relevant financial and legal processes.

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Timeliness can matter. In a December 2024 interagency statement, federal financial regulators said: “Timely reporting of elder financial exploitation increases the likelihood of successful recovery of funds.” The statement describes the FBI’s IC3 Recovery Asset Team as a domestic program intended to streamline communication between financial institutions and FBI field offices and help freeze funds sent to fraudulent accounts under false pretenses. It also identifies FinCEN’s international Rapid Response Program for certain cyber-enabled financial crimes, including business email compromise. These are targeted programs, not a general recovery guarantee for every victim.

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To put the scale of reported activity in context, the CFPB reported in 2019 that financial institutions filed more than 180,000 suspicious activity reports involving suspected elder financial exploitation from 2013 through 2017, associated with more than $6 billion. Those figures describe reported suspicious activities and associated amounts—not a complete count of incidents, proven losses, or money that victims can recover.

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What legal or protective options might we have?

Legal remedies depend on state law and the facts. The CFPB says civil legal services may be available at no cost to eligible people, and a private lawyer is another option. Some states allow survivors to bring civil cases to recover money. Some also provide ways to temporarily freeze accounts or pause property transfers, or allow a financial institution to place a temporary hold on a transaction when elder financial abuse is suspected. A civil court may issue a restraining or protective order.

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For advice about options in the person’s state, contact local legal aid, an elder-law attorney, or the relevant court. The precise local APS contact, reporting requirements, deadlines for legal claims, authority to freeze an account, and available civil claims cannot be determined without knowing the state.

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