Last year, 17,000 elder abuse cases were filed in Colorado. It’s a dramatic increase of 41 percent from the year before, according to the state's Division of Aging. As we’ve reported, that number includes financial abuse.
A new state program, called Senior$afe, seeks to protect Colorado seniors from that problem. It will teach people like investment advisers, bank tellers, brokers and financial institutions to recognize signs of exploitation.
Securities Commissioner Gerry Rome says in some cases, scammers have been able to steal all of an elderly person’s retirement savings. He says Senior$afe “is a community approach to dealing with what we see as a significant problem.”
