Financial Abuse.
The Care Act 2014 describes ‘financial abuse’ as a type of abuse which includes having money or other property stolen, being defrauded, being put under pressure in relation to money or other property and having money or other property misused.
Financial abuse takes many forms. It’s a type of abuse that can start subtle and is often hard to detect. When defining financial abuse, we know there are many elements at play. It is true that financial abuse often involves or is associated with:
- Someone taking or misusing someone else’s money or belongings for their own gain
- Harming, depriving or disadvantaging the victim
- Controlling someone’s purchases or access to money
- Often associated with other forms of abuse
- Doesn’t always involve a crime like theft or fraud
What financial abuse looks like can vary which can make it difficult to detect and identify. As the Care Act 2014 definition shows, financial abuse can be concerning money, property or belongings.
Financial abuse might look like:
- Borrowing money and not giving it back
- Sudden close relationships/ romances
- Stealing money or belongings
- Taking pension payments or other benefit away from someone
- Taking money as payment for coming to visit or spending time together
- Forcing someone to sell their home or assets without consent
- Tricking someone into bad investments
- Forcing someone to make changes in wills, property or inheritance
Here are some useful links to help:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/frauds-tricks-and-scams/fraud-tricks-and-scams
https://urc.org.uk/latest-news/3801-beware-of-phishing-emails-circulating-the-denomination
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/stop-scams/
https://www.anncrafttrust.org/predatory-marriage-safeguarding-matters/