Seniors Swindled Out of $3 Billion a Year - Elder Exploitation - AARP

Seniors Swindled Out of $3 Billion a Year - Elder Exploitation - AARP

This year marked the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's designation of May as Older Americans Month. There were 17 million Americans over age 65 when Kennedy made this proclamation.

See also: Be aware of the Jamaican area code scammers use to exploit older Americans

Congress needs to work to make sure seniors are better protected from fraud and exploitation. — Getty Images

Today, our country finds itself in the midst of one of the most dramatic demographic shifts in our history. Now we have 40 million Americans over age 65.

By 2060, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the number of older Americans will top 90 million — and, for the first time, this group will outnumber children under 18.

As our aging population has grown, so too have incidents of elder exploitation.

Increasingly, older people are falling victim to