The majority of victims were between the ages of 80 and 89, lived alone, and required help with health care or home maintenance.
Women were targeted twice as often as men.
Victims were particularly vulnerable during the holidays.
Crimes in which the perpetrators were strangers to the victim accounted for the majority of cases (51 percent), but family members or friends committed a whopping 34 percent of crimes against the elderly. Twelve percent of crimes were from the business sector, and four percent were from Medicare or Medicaid fraud. If you are concerned that a senior might be falling victim to financial abuse, contact the National Center on Elder Abuse or report it to NCL’s Fraud Center at www.fraud.org.