If you develop dementia, you can bank on it affecting your decision-making skills.
More than 6 million Americans have dementia — a gradual decline in cognitive function like memory, language and problem-solving that significantly impacts daily life.
Early signs of dementia include memory loss, difficulty finding words and disorientation. A neuropsychologist warns that problems managing money can also signal the debilitating disease.
“Research shows that people with dementia may be able to initially handle basic tasks, like routine bill paying or using an ATM card,” Bonnie E. Levin, director of the Division of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, told The Post.
“Eventually, everyday tasks — like paying for a purchase, calculating a tip and tracking one’s
investments — also become challenging to handle on one’s own.”
Here are the red flags that may signal dementia — and some suggestions for protecting seniors from financial exploitation.
Signs to watch for in a loved one
- Missed monthly payments
- Many unopened or unpaid bills
- Unnecessary or unexpected purchases
- Lots of new purchases on a credit card
- Unexplained or unaccounted for cash withdrawals
- Decreased capacity for online banking, resulting in repeated login attempts
- Lost or stolen cards
- PIN resets
Levin, associate director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute in Miami, noted that not every memory slip or mishap is a sign of dementia or cognitive disease.
“The brain ages just like the rest of your body, and things like misplacing items around the house or missing a monthly payment once in a while often are normal signs of brain aging and not cause for serious concern,” she explained.
“However, regularly missing payments, becoming confused about time, people or places, having changes in mood or behavior with no apparent reason and asking the same questions repeatedly can signal a more serious memory problem.”
These concerns should prompt a visit to a healthcare provider, who can get to the root of the issue and chart a treatment path.
How to set financial safeguards
Early action is key to preventing negative consequences for seniors — and their loved ones.
You can help a family member struggling with dementia devise a monthly budget, set up automated bill pay and learn tools to manage spending.
“Technology can serve as an important safety net for seniors with dementia by offering deadline
reminders, fraud alerts and payment tracking to make managing finances easier,” Levin said.
“Spending trackers and alert systems work to catch unusual purchases or repeated transactions that could signal confusion or financial exploitation.”
If you suspect something is wrong, you can use the person’s internet history to check their past purchases and verify official sites.
Seniors may want to consider enabling a power of attorney, which allows a trusted relative to make crucial decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated.
“Placing a loved one in charge of an elderly family member’s financial, medical and legal needs can prevent financial exploitation by putting decision-making into the hands of someone who is cognitively stable and a trusted source of support,” Levin said.
Beware financial scams
The loss of financial capacity not only increases the risk of missed obligations and debt, Levin said, it also makes people more vulnerable to exploitation and fraud.
Scams that prey on the elderly are not new — but tech advances have made them more sophisticated.
“Common scams … include government impersonator scams, like someone posing as a Medicare
representative,” Levin said.
“Fake sweepstakes or lottery wins, in which payment or account information is needed
upfront to claim rewards,” she added, “and computer tech support, where a fraudster offers to fix fake computer problems for a fee, also often target the elderly and people with dementia.”
Having financial safeguards in place can significantly reduce vulnerability to financial scams by prohibiting unauthorized access, limiting exposure to fraud and ensuring rapid detection.
