For this assignment you need to read the scenario below, respond to the prompt.
Adult Protective Services (APS) received a report of suspected elder financial abuse when a 78-year-old
male was seen repeatedly wiring large sums of money to international accounts offshore. The APS worker
met with Mr. Folsom who described $8 million in lottery winnings he was trying to collect by sending “legal
processing to a Nigerian government official. Mr. Folsom lived independently by himself and still drove to
the grocery store and appointments. He admitted that he was a bit frustrated because he initially was told
it would only cost $5,000 to “release the funds” to him, but there seemed to be an unending series of
delays and bureaucratic snafu’s which had resulted in him sending wire transfers of more than $80,000 in
the last year. Mr. Folsom became quite emotional as he described how he had even taken out unsecured
loans for $25,000 from the bank so he could send the money required by the Nigerian government official.
Mr. Folsom displayed no insight that this was a type of fraud known as a lottery scam. In fact, when the
APS worker asked how the situation had unfolded, it became clear that Mr. Folsom could not comprehend
the scam or its consequences.
Further, even when he began to have suspicions about the veracity of the lottery “winnings”, he simply
couldn’t stop or protect himself from the scam. Mr. Folsom began having trouble paying his bills because
of the additional monthly payments he now owed the bank for the unsecured loans.
Questions to discuss in your response:
How does this scenario illustrate the primary challenges associated with the detection of financial
exploitation of older adults?
What do you feel society needs to do to better combat the vastly increasing problem of financial
exploitation of older adults? (Be specific in identifying strategies you recommend)
Sample Solution
