Robert was a veteran.

He had served his country, saved his money, and should have lived his final years in peace.

But instead, he was betrayed.

At the end of his life, he was being financially exploited by a relative, in this case a nephew, who was taking his Social Security checks and left him home unattended, unassisted, and really he became dehydrated and became very ill and needed to be hospitalized.

Stories like his are not rare.

And the reason is simple.

We are targeted specifically because people have done what we expected.

We've saved for retirement.

And there are people out there who know that most of the wealth in this country is owned by older people.

Some of the most common scams that we see often in our complaint forms are imposter scams.

And basically what that means is the scammer is an unknown individual pretending to be someone that you may know or even trust.

Your bank, government office, Social Security, IRS call, Medicare call.

They love to be anybody that they think that you would have any trust in.

But fraud isn't just about money.

It preys on loneliness and on the changes that come with age.

I know a lot of people in the field of aging who are very concerned about social isolation.

They were concerned before the pandemic and see that it's just gotten worse over time as we have increasing numbers of older people and just more people aging in place with fewer connections.

If you're lonely and depressed, you'll answer every phone call regardless to who it is or if you even know the caller.

And that is opening that door to fraud.

I think of it as a crime against humanity.

Like how dare you, as we age, take advantage of us who have been given the blessing of long life.

And it just really is offensive to me from every direction.

In Pennsylvania, the courts and legislature recently passed major reforms to strengthen protections for older adults, especially in guardianship cases.

The major reforms in that statute are, in every case, counsel must be appointed to represent the alleged incapacitated person in court.

This really improves due process and our ability to see the individual before us as an individual and learn about their specific needs and their specific goals.

I was fortunate enough to get a phone call from a senior community manager who advised they had a resident there who was insistent on getting a ride to his bank because he needed to withdraw a $9,000 check to pay for his Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes winnings.

And after about 45 minutes of conversation with the resident, we were able to convince him that it was fraud.

So just by that one phone call, we were able to save that person from being exploited by a scammer.

Stopping fraud is one piece of the puzzle, but protection isn't only about scams.

Sometimes it's about neighbors noticing the smallest details.

I grew up in a small town.

I had an elderly aunt who lived by herself for a long time.

And one morning, she didn't raise the shades, and the neighbor noticed.

And she went over to my aunt's house and found that she had gone outside overnight and had fallen and laid outside overnight.

They took her to the hospital.

She had a brain tumor.

But the reason we got help was because the neighbor noticed, just paid attention to the pattern of people's lives.

That's the heart of real protection, not just laws or agencies, but human connection.

We have to remember how much we love the older adults in our lives and respect the older adults in our lives, how much they've meant to us, how much they've given to us.

And it's our opportunity to make sure we protect their interests and give back while respecting their dignity to the maximum extent possible.

They built this country.

Now it's our turn to protect them with vigilance, with justice, and with love.

If you suspect a family member, friend, or neighbor is subject to financial exploitation, contact the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General right away at 1-866-623-2137.

And you can email seniors at attorneygeneral.gov.