OVC (Office for Victims of Crime) is committed to ensuring that older victims of crime have access to trauma-informed services and resources that protect the safety and confidentiality of victims.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime
Join OVC as we commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Wednesday, June 15, 2024. This annual commemoration is a call to action for individuals, organizations, and communities around the world to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.
From June 12 through June 16, the University of Southern California’s Center on Elder Mistreatment website offers resources to help advocates and professionals raise awareness of elder abuse and advance elder justice. The center’s Tools and Tips page also offers outreach guides, a social media guide, sample letters to the editor, downloadable fliers, and other outreach materials.
This month, we highlight the National Elder Fraud Hotline, which has been in operation by OVC for 4 years.
Launched in March 2020, it offers experienced case managers to provide victims of financial fraud ages 60 or older with personalized support by assessing their needs and identifying relevant next steps. Since the hotline opened, they have received over 121,000 calls, averaging 83 calls a day.
Call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311) from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday.
We also highlight the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker that allows the public to report attempted or successful scams online. Submissions are vetted, and legitimate reports are then posted for the public to search. Reports may be shared with third parties such as regulatory agencies, law enforcement, or other appropriate organizations for investigation.
View publications and multimedia products to help the field provide effective services to victims of elder abuse and financial exploitation. These materials, funded by OVC and hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, include the following and more:
- Strategies and Training to Advance Greater Elder Safety: This curriculum educates teams of judicial, justice, and community professionals about financial exploitation and elder abuse.
- Elder Abuse Fatality Review Teams: A Replication Manual: This manual provides guidance to communities on establishing elder abuse fatality review teams that examine deaths caused by or related to elder abuse.
- Lifting Up the Voices of Older Survivors Videos: This collection of nine training videos and accompanying discussion guides features the voices of older survivors describing their experiences and insights regarding effective interventions.
Discover additional resources for organizations responding to elder abuse on the Elder Justice Initiative website and the Elder Fraud and Abuse section of the OVC website.
