Financial exploitation of the elderly sometimes happens at the hands of those they love and trust - children, in-home caregivers, etc. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has released a video (on DVD)to help seniors understand that those they least expect to cheat them may indeed be the ones to do it. You can order this video for $10 or watch it online for free.

For example, a deadbeat son convinces his mother to routinely withdraw money from her bank account to help him out - while leaving her with little left over to pay her bills.

This video is part of the MOSAFE project, which had input from a number of different organizations and state agencies (including ours). The acronym stands for Missourians Stopping Adult Financial Exploitation.

It's the second video put out by MOSAFE. The first was a training DVD for bank and credit union employees to help them to see the signs of when their customers are being taken advantage of.

We often say that doing business with a stranger is a dangerous thing to do - but unfortunately sometimes the ones we know best do it to us as well.