How to spot and prevent elder abuse ahead of day of awareness

Do you let seniors in your life know about recent scams that you’ve heard of?

Ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Sunday, an event at Calgary’s Unison at Kerby Centre is reminding people of the very real risks affecting our senior population.

“Right now, we’re seeing a huge uptick in the use of AI to make credible-looking investment scams, investment opportunities, websites,” James Mactavish, senior advisor of investor education with the Alberta Securities Commission, told CityNews.

“And so what we’re really asking of many seniors is to stop, take a moment, look and see if you see any of those red flags.”

He says if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

He adds you can head to checkfirst.ca for resources on how to spot an investment scam and to check if an individual or firm is registered with the Canadian Securities National Registry.

But financial abuse of elders also happens within the home.

Larry Mathieson, the president and CEO of Unison, said there have been many cases of adult children “essentially locking in” their parents, threatening them with homelessness, to get their money.

Additionally, tight economic times are making all forms of elder abuse more common, according to Paula Talfer, the CEO of Carya.

“With the stressors in society right now, with housing and food insecurity, and the cost of everything escalating and skyrocketing, families are under a great deal of stress, and I think that’s why we’re seeing increased cases of elder abuse,” she said.

Signs she says to look out for include seniors experiencing isolation or not leaving home, as well as obvious signs of physical injuries.

“You never know how serious something might be behind closed doors,” Talfer said.

It’s a growing issue, with Unison having 14 beds for seniors fleeing abuse–up from nine–but still, more support is needed.

“I would love to tell you that we have empty rooms, or often we have empty rooms, but we don’t,” Mathieson said.

They encourage people to speak up and stay connected with seniors in their lives and community.