New Study Puts Florida Elder Fraud Losses at Over $2 Billion

New study puts florida elder fraud losses at over $2 billion

The majority of elder fraud cases in the US go unreported. With this in mind, we set out to uncover the true scale of the issue by analyzing and extrapolating government reports and registries.

As expected in the state with the highest percentage of senior citizens, Florida has the highest estimated number of elder fraud reports, over half a million in total. That’s 9.35 percent of elderly people. Losses amount to $2 billion in a year.

 

Key findings

Only 1 in 23.5 incidents of elder fraud are reported to authorities, according to a 2011 report from the New York City Department for the Aging and Cornell University. Here are some of the key findings at a national level, based on that figure:

  • 1 in 10 elderly people in the US fell victim to elder fraud in the last year
  • More than 5 million incidents of elder fraud occur every year in total
  • The average loss per case reported to Adult Protective Services is $2,415
  • In total, losses due to elder fraud total $27.4 billion each year
  • 38% of fraud cases target the elderly
  • Debit cards were the most common product involved with elder fraud cases (32.9%), followed by credit cards (11.6%) and bank deposit accounts (10%)

 

Picture of Author: Amanda Jones
Author: Amanda Jones

Amanda Jones specializes in content marketing. She holds a Master's degree in Marketing Management from the University of Florida and a Content Manager Professional Certificate from the University of Miami.

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