June 6, 2016

A note from the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman:

Did you know that every day 10,000 people turn 65 in the United States alone? That trend is expected to continue for the next 20 years, meaning we will soon have more older adults in this country than ever before.

Unfortunately, along with the increase in the number of older Americans comes a startling number of individuals facing abusive conditions. Every year, an estimated 5 million older Americans (or one out of every 10) are victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation, and that’s only part of the picture. Experts believe that, for every case of elder abuse or neglect that is reported in the U.S., as many as 23.5 cases go unreported.

To raise awareness about the abuse, neglect and exploitation of elders, the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization launched World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEADD) on June 15, 2006. This year, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, WEADD hopes to provide an opportunity for individuals, organizations and communities to come together to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons.

I hope you will join me in taking a stand against elder abuse this year. Check out this flyer from the National Center on Elder Abuse for a list of 12 things you can do to start helping today, and remember that it's up to all of us to advocate for the rights, dignity, well-being and safety of older adults.

Deanna Clingan-Fischer, JD

Caller ID spoofing: What it is and how to avoid this common scam

The Iowa Communications Network (ICN) recently released a security bulletin about caller ID "spoofing"—an increasingly popular scam in which a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to a phone's caller ID display to disguise their identity.

Spoofing is often used as part of an attempt to trick someone into giving away valuable personal information so it can be used in fraudulent activity or sold illegally. Although U.S. law and FCC rules prohibit most types of spoofing, the use of spoofing to mislead individuals has increased significantly over the past few years and has been involved in numerous phone scams across Iowa. 

To protect yourself against spoofing, the ICN says not to place all your trust in the caller ID information presented to you and advises against providing personal information or financial information to someone who has called you. If you believe a criminal or scammer has targeted you through a caller ID spoofing scam, you should report it immediately to your local police department or sheriff’s office. Iowans can also file complaints at the Iowa Attorney General Office’s website at www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day serves as call-to-action for all advocates of older adults

Each year, an estimated 5 million older Americans are abused, neglected or exploited. In addition, older adults throughout the United States lose an estimated $2.6 billion or more annually due to elder financial abuse and exploitation—funds that could have been used to pay for basic needs such as housing, food or medical care.

Unfortunately, no one is immune to elder abuse. It occurs in every demographic and can happen to anyone—a family member, a neighbor, even you. Yet it is estimated that only about one in five of these crimes are ever discovered.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006, by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to raise awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes that contribute to elder abuse and neglect.

For more information about WEADD events, ideas on how you can take action and ways to promote elder abuse awareness in your community, visit the WEAAD resource page on the Administration for Community Living website.