Understanding Elder Abuse

Defining Elder Abuse

In general, elder abuse is any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a risk of harm to an older adult.  Usually there is an ongoing relationship with an expectation of trust.

Abuse, neglect and financial exploitation may not be obvious. However, there are often warning signs that you or a loved one may be at risk. It’s never an easy conversation to have, but it could help save a life.

Have you had a partner, family member, or trusted caregiver that is...

  • Embarrassing you by calling you bad names or putting you down?
  • Looking at you or acting in ways that scare you?
  • Destroying, damaging or giving away your property?
  • Hiding details about your finances or property from you?
  • Controlling what you do, who you see, or where you go?
  • Controlling your money or legal documents without your permission?
  • Using your money in ways that do not benefit you?
  • Making all of the decisions without your input?
  • Threatening to hurt you?
  • Shoving, grabbing, slapping or hitting you?
  • Ignoring your physical, emotional or medical needs?
  • Taking money that you need to pay your bills?
  • Acting like everything is fine when others around you say you should be concerned?

The information below will help you identify and understand various types of abuse. For help, visit our Victim Services page.

Navigate to:
Physical Abuse
Emotional Abuse
Sexual
Abuse
Financial Exploitation
Financial Scams
Neglect
Unwanted
Guests
Self
Neglect
Hoarding

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse causes or is likely to cause pain or injury. Behaviors associated with physical abuse include hitting, slapping, kicking, pinching, biting, or the nontherapeutic use of drugs, restraints, and confinement.

PhysicalAbuse
  • Bractures, dislocations, burns
  • Broken eyeglasses, frames
  • Internal injuries
  • Signs of traumatic hair loss or tooth loss
  • Bilateral bruising to the arms
  • Bilateral bruising of the inner thighs
  • Wrap around bruises that may indicate physical restraints

Minnesota Elder Abuse Statute

Minnesota Adult Protective Services

Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC)

Mandated Reporters

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is repeated or malicious spoken, written, or gestured language and other treatment that would 
reasonably be considered disparaging, derogatory, 
humiliating, harassing, or threatening. On the other side 
of the picture, subjecting a vulnerable adult to the “silent 
treatment” is a form of emotional abuse. Minnesota law also prohibits the use of any aversive or deprivation procedure, unreasonable confinement, or involuntary seclusion, including the forced separation of the vulnerable adult from other persons against the will of the vulnerable adult or his/her legal representative.

EmotionalAbuse
  • Victim is cut off from other family members, friends or neighbors
  • Caregiver or others in household are verbally aggressive, belittling, shaming or threatening.
  • Uncharacteristic behavior or changes in customary habits
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Regressive or self-destructive behavior

Senior Living Guide for Preventing Elder Abuse, Assault, and Theft

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse includes victimization by criminal sexual conduct, solicitation, inducement or promotion of prostitution, as defined in Minnesota criminal laws. Sexual abuse further includes any sexual contact or penetration by a facility staff person or a person providing services in the facility and a resident, patient, or client of that facility.

SexualAbuse
  • Any of the indicators of physical abuse
  • Genital or anal pain or bleeding
  • Torn, stained, bloody underclothing
  • Sexually transmitted diseases
  • Reports of unnecessary or uncomfortable hygiene practices

MEJC Webinar on October 16, 2025

Sexual Assault Training Project from MN OOLTC.

These materials are available for public use and may be shared/utilized without further permission, provided you give credit to the MN CMP Initiative and indicate that ‘the development of these materials was made possible through the use of CMP Funds.'

Staff Training Materials

Staff Quiz and Answer Key


Resident and Family Council Training / Awareness Materials

Video Transcripts

Financial Exploitation

Exploiters may describe themselves as “family caregivers,” while the truth is that they are dependent on their victims for financial assistance, housing and other support. The risk increases when the exploiter knows where important papers are and has access to personal information (e.g., PIN numbers, Social Security number). Substance abuse and other personal problems may be associated with the behavior.

Financial exploitation happens in many ways. These include when someone who has a legal obligation to manage the money makes unauthorized expenditures of a vulnerable adult’s funds, or fails to use the funds for his/her food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision. Financial exploitation can also occur when someone uses or disposes of a vulnerable adult’s money or property without any legal authority.

Acquiring possession or control of a vulnerable adult’s funds or property through pressure, deception, or fraud constitutes financial exploitation.

FinancialExploitation
  • Signs of neglect despite availability of resources
  • Unpaid bills despite availability of resources
  • Corollaries: pharmacy stops filling prescriptions, threats of eviction or involuntary discharge from residence for unpaid rent
  • Sudden changes in property titles, mortgages, Powers of Attorney documents, wills, trusts
  • Large or frequent gifts to caregivers
  • Caregiver’s excessive interest in elder’s financial records
  • Sudden appearance of previously uninvolved relatives claiming rights to elder’s possessions
  • “Helpful neighbors” paid big sums for chores
  • Elder is repeatedly isolated from callers or visitors (or investigators)

Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) – The CFPB created a series of helpful guides:

MEJC financial exploitation videos

Financial Scams

Financial scams are a risk for everyone. They come in a broad array of scenarios, by telephone, by mail, by computer, and at the front door. Older people are attractive targets for scammers because they are likely to have savings and are likely to be more trusting of others. Vulnerable adult victims of financial scams are unlikely ever to be able to make up the lost dollars. And like financial exploitation in general, victims of scams suffer consequences beyond irreplaceable money. Physical health, emotional well-being, care and housing often suffer too.

FinancialScam

  • The victim receives news about a prize or other windfall that requires payment of fees or taxes up front.

  • The victim is pressured to keep “good” news a secret until a transaction is complete or risk losing out on this one-time opportunity.

  • A caller constantly seeks more information and pressures the victim to comply.

  • A third party claims to be from a government agency, financial institution or other entity and asks for personal information and numbers.

  • A victim receives mail or email for sweepstakes, contests or other sources suggesting that he or she has already been scammed.

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a watchdog agency that issues many resources to combat financial exploitation and scams, especially those that target vulnerable populations. The following list of common scams and indicators comes from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

  • Relative in need: Someone who pretends to be a family member or friend calls or emails you to say they are in trouble and need you to wire money right away.
  • Charity Appeals: You get a call or letter from someone asking for money for a fake charity—either the charity does not exist or the charity did not call or write to you.
  • Lottery or sweepstakes: You get a call or email that you have a chance to win a lot of money through a foreign country’s sweepstakes or lottery. The caller will offer tips about how to win if you pay a fee or buy something. Or the caller or email says you already have won and you must give your bank account information or pay a fee to collect your winnings.
  • Home improvement: Scammers take money for repairs and then they never return to do the work or they do bad work. Sometimes they break something to create more work or they say that things need work when they don’t.
  • Free lunch: Scammers invite you to a free lunch and seminar, and then pressure you to give them information about your money, and to invest the money with them. They offer you “tips” or “guaranteed returns.”
  • Free trip: Scammers say you’ve won a free trip but they ask for a credit card number or advance cash to hold the reservation
  • Government money: You get a call or letter that seems to be from a government agency. Scammers say that if you give a credit card number or send a money order, you can apply for government help with housing, home repairs, utilities, or taxes.
  • Drug plans: Scammers pretend they are with Medicare prescription drug plans, and try to sell Medicare discount drug cards that are not valid. Companies with Medicare drug plans are not allowed to send unsolicited mail, emails, or phone calls.
  • Identity theft: Scammers steal personal information—such as a name, date of birth, Social Security number, account number, and mother’s maiden name—and use the information to open credit cards or get a mortgage in someone else’s name.
  • Fake “official” mail: Scammers send letters or emails that look like they are from a legitimate bank, business, or agency to try to get your personal information or bank account number.

AARP fraud watch network

Federal Trade Commission Latest Scams

Federal Trade Commission Report Fraud

Neglect

Neglect by a caregiver occurs when a person who is responsible for care fails or refuses to provide food, clothing, shelter, health care, or supervision that is reasonably required to maintain the vulnerable adult’s physical and mental well-being.

Self-neglect occurs when an individual is unaware of their deteriorating health or environment, refuses assistance, or fears that assistance will also bring undesired consequences like loss of independence.

Neglect
  • Poor hygiene – soiled clothing, dirty nails and skin, matted or lice-infested hair, odors
  • Unclothed, or improperly clothed for weather
  • Rashes
  • Sunken eyes, area around cheekbones
  • Dehydration, evidence by low urinary output, dry fragile skin, dry sore mouth, apathy, lack of energy, and mental confusion
  • Unusual weight loss
  • Untreated medical conditions – unattended fractures, infections, lack of wound care
  • Absence of needed appliances – dentures, eyeglasses, hearing aids, braces, prostheses, walkers, wheelchairs, commodes
  • No heat, running water, faulty wiring or other hazards
  • Hoarding and garbage

Engagement Strategies When Working with Cases of Self-Neglect

Caregiver Support

Loneliness and Social Isolation — Tips for Staying Connected

Understanding Loneliness and Social Isolation

The Unwanted Guest

Older and vulnerable adults may permit guests to stay at their homes for a variety of reasons. The arrangements can turn exploitative if the initially welcomed guest overstays their welcome, refuses to find alternative housing, or embarks upon controlling behavior. Hosts find themselves in difficult situations if guests do not leave. A guest’s continued presence can turn exploitative if the guest explicitly seeks money or other resources from the host or implicitly consumes those same resources by remaining in the host’s home without providing the host compensation. Circumstances where guests have overstayed their welcome in the homes of older adults or vulnerable adults is symptomatic or predicative of other forms of abuse.

UnwantedGuests

  • A family member moved in due to insufficient resources, is not contributing to household expenses, and has become a financial burden.

  • A short-term renter has not moved out as agreed, has not paid rent, or acts abusively toward the homeowner’s property and the homeowner as a person.

  • An adult child never moved out and is starting to act like the home belongs to them.

Parting with an Unwanted Guest article

Helen’s Story of an Unwanted Guest

Training on Parting with an Unwanted Guest:

Self-Neglect

According to Adult Protection Services (APS) Self-Neglect “involves older adults or adults with disabilities who cannot meet their own essential physical, psychological or social needs, which threatens their health, safety and well-being. This includes failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, and health care for one’s own needs.” It tends to be the most common report submitted to APS.

SelfNeglect
  • Self-neglect is a failure of a person to meet personal needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.
  • May be a personal choice.
  • May be the result of a financial inability or physical inability to meet personal needs.
  • People who neglect themselves are more likely to suffer other forms of elder abuse as well.
  • The first line of help for self-neglect is social service based.
  •  

National Adult Protection Services Association (NAPSA)

Engagement Strategies When Working with Cases of Self-Neglect

Hoarding

The DSM-5 defines Hoarding Disorder as persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value, leading to an accumulation of possessions that clutter living areas.

Hoarding
  • Hoarding happens at any age but discovered more often later life due to accumulation, lack of treatment, and increased interaction with service providers.
  • Late onset hoarding has often been linked to loss or trauma.
  • Hoarding is a progressive and chronic condition.
  • Affects 2-6% of the population.
  • The average age that a hoarder seeks treatment is 50.

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