Consumer
and
industry
advocacy
organizations
—
including
the


American
Land
Title
Association
(ALTA),


National
Consumer
Law
Center
(NCLC),


National
Association
of
Realtors
(NAR)
and


AARP
—
are
sounding
the
alarm
over
a
rising
trend
of
elder
real
estate
fraud
and
financial
exploitation
in
a
new

jointly
created
issue
brief
released
on
Friday.

The
brief
includes
an
overview
of
key
actions
that
could
be
considered
elder
financial
abuse,
including
but
not
limited
to
signature
forging
on
legal
or
financial
documents;
coercing
or
“unduly
influencing”
the
signing
of
such
documents;
failing
to
disclose
“critical
information;”
“defrauding
older
adults
out
of
money
or
property;”
and
“inappropriate
utilization
of
authority
under
a
power
of
attorney
(POA).”

According
to


Federal
Trade
Commission
(FTC)

data
cited
in
the
brief,
U.S.
residents
ages
60
and
older
lost
more
than
$1.9
billion
to
these
scams
last
year
alone.

Additional
data
from
the


FBI’s
Internet
Crime
Complaint
Center
(IC3)
2023
report
showed
the
cohort
lost
more
than
$65
million
specifically
tied
to
real
estate
scams,
which
impacted
approximately
1,498
victims.

Based
on
the
FBI
data,
this
constitutes
a
14%
increase
in
elder
financial
exploitation
from
2022
levels.

“Protecting
property
rights
of
all
Americans
is
our
top
concern
—
and
older
adults
are
no
exception,“
Elizabeth
Blosser,
vice
president
of
government
affairs
at
ALTA,
said
in
a
statement.
“The
stark
increase
in
scams,
fraud
and
financial
exploitation
targeting
older
adults
is
deeply
concerning,
and
the
private
sector
and
policymakers
must
come
together
to
combat
these
schemes,
especially
as
the
median
age
in
this
country
continues
to
increase.”

NCLC
senior
attorney
Andrea
Bopp
Stark
added
that
the
aging
of
the
U.S.
population
necessitates
additional
action
by
policymakers
at
the
state
and
federal
levels
to
protect
older
adults
from
these
kinds
of
scams.

“Lawmakers
and
advocates
must
take
these
abusive
practices
head
on
—
strengthening
consumer
protections
for
the
growing
population
of
older
adults
and
challenging
emerging
threats
to
their
financial
wellbeing,”
she
said.

Reverse
mortgages
are
not
explicitly
mentioned
in
the
brief
itself,
but
they
are
mentioned
by
Bryan
Greene,
NAR’s
vice
president
of
policy
advocacy,
among
a
series
of
“exploitative
tactics.”

“Addressing
elder
real
estate
fraud
necessitates
a
collective
effort,”
Greene
said.
“NAR
continues
to
advocate
on
behalf
of
seniors
to
shield
them
from
exploitative
tactics
such
as
reverse
mortgages,
property
investment
and
foreclosure-rescue
offers.
We
are
proud
to
work
with
ALTA,
AARP
and
NCLC
to
offer
these
recommendations
for
states
to
prevent
seniors
from
being
targeted
by
these
increasingly
prevalent
schemes
and
safeguard
their
financial
security.”

While
federal
agencies

have
issued
“fraud
bulletins”
related
to
reverse
mortgages
in
the
past,
these
primarily
refer
to
bad
actors
who
aim
to
manipulate
an
older
victim
into
obtaining
a
loan.
Reverse
mortgages
are
legitimate
products
offered
under
the


Federal
Housing
Administration
(FHA)’s
Home
Equity
Conversion
Mortgage
(HECM)
program,
but
bad
actors
may
seek
to
scam
a
senior
out
of
money
under
the
guise
of
offering
a
reverse
mortgage
on
their
home.

Jenn
Jones,
vice
president
of
government
affairs,
financial
security
and
livable
communities
at
AARP,
was
more
sensitive
to
such
a
distinction.

“While
elder
financial
exploitation
is
often
perpetrated
by
family
members
or
trusted
friends,
older
Americans
are
also
common
targets
of
unscrupulous
professionals
and
strangers
looking
to
commit
fraud,”
Jones
said.
“Financial
exploitation
of
any
kind
wreaks
havoc
on
the
lives
of
older
adults
and
their
families,
and
we
need
stronger
policies,
enforcement
and
public
education
to
combat
this
widespread
crisis.”

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