Consumer and industry advocacy groups—including American Land Title Association (Alta), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), national association of realtors (nar) and AARP – Sounding the alarm on the rising trend of real estate fraud and financial exploitation of seniors in a new jointly created issues brief released Friday.
The brief outlines key actions that may be considered elder financial abuse, including but not limited to forging signatures on legal or financial documents; coercing or “undue influence” into the signing of such documents; failing to disclose “critical information”; Defrauding an elderly person of money or property;” and “Misuse of powers under a Power of Attorney (POA).”
according to Federal Trade Commission Last year alone, U.S. residents age 60 and older lost more than $1.9 billion to these scams, according to (FTC) data cited in the brief. Additional data comes from FBIThe Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2023 report showed that this group lost more than $65 million to real estate scams, affecting approximately 1,498 victims.
According to FBI data, this represents a 14% increase in financial exploitation of seniors from 2022 levels.
“Protecting the property rights of all Americans is our top concern, and seniors are no exception,” Elizabeth Blosser, ALTA’s vice president of government affairs, said in a statement. “Scams, fraud targeting seniors “The dramatic increase in financial exploitation is deeply concerning, and the private sector and policymakers must work together to combat these schemes, especially as the country’s median age continues to increase.”
Andrea Bopp Stark, senior staff attorney at NCLC, added that America’s aging population requires additional action from policymakers at the state and federal levels to protect seniors from such scams.
“Lawmakers and advocates must confront these abuses—strengthen consumer protections for the growing senior population and challenge new threats to their financial well-being,” she said.
The briefing itself does not explicitly mention reverse mortgages, but Bryan Greene, NAR’s vice president of policy initiatives, mentioned them among a series of “exploitative tactics.”
“Addressing senior real estate fraud requires a collective effort,” Green said. “NAR continues to advocate on behalf of seniors to protect them from exploitative tactics such as reverse mortgages, real estate investments, and foreclosure rescues. We are proud to partner with ALTA, AARP, and NCLC to provide states with these recommendations, To prevent seniors from being targeted by these increasingly popular schemes and safeguard their financial security.
While federal agencies have issued “fraud advisories” related to reverse mortgages in the past, these primarily referred to bad actors aiming to manipulate elderly victims into obtaining loans. Reverse mortgages are a legal product offered under federal housing administration (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, but bad actors may try to scam seniors out of their money under the guise of offering reverse mortgages on their homes.
Jenn Jones, vice president of government affairs, financial security and livable communities at AARP, is more sensitive to the distinction.
“While financial exploitation of older adults is often perpetrated by family members or trusted friends, older Americans are also common targets of fraud committed by unscrupulous professionals and strangers,” Jones said. “Any form of financial exploitation will “Wreaking havoc on the lives of older adults and their families, we need stronger policy, enforcement and public education to address this widespread crisis.”
