In mid-November of 2021, the CFPB released a “data spotlight” on suspicious activity reports on elder financial exploitation. The publication highlights trends relating to SARs filed by financial institutions that relate to elder financial exploitation. In general, the analysis primarily relies on public data for EFE SARs filed between January 2014 and December 2020, available through SAR Stats . The analysis using SAR Stats is limited to initial filings of EFE SARs and excludes SARs which provide information on suspicious activity that continues (Continuing Activity SARs) or include a correction to a previous filing (Correction SARs).
Highlights found in the data spotlight include:
In 2020, financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, and money transmitters filed 62,014 SARs involving suspected elder financial exploitation (EFE SARs). The total number of EFE SARs filed in 2020 was about 300 fewer than in 2019 (62,298).
Depository institutions such as banks and credit unions filed nearly 60 percent of all EFE SARs in 2020. While the share of EFE SAR filings by depository institutions has varied over time, the total number of EFE SAR filings by depository institutions has consistently increased from approximately 16,000 in 2014 to 36,500 in 2020. Money services business (MSBs) are historically the second most common type of filer. MSBs’ filings show the largest variations in number and share over time.
The dollar amounts involved in the suspicious activities reported in EFE SARs include actual losses to the older adult or to the filer, unsuccessful attempts to steal the older adult’s funds, or both. Because SARs report the amount at risk of being lost, or an actual loss to an individual or financial institution, as reported by the financial institutions, some reports may include uncommon amounts, often in the billions of dollars. This could be the result of an attempt to deposit a fake check purportedly worth billions of dollars or attempts to withdraw billions of dollars from a customer’s account.
In more than half of the EFE SARs filed in 2020, a checking or savings account or a money transfer was involved. Cash (in the form of U.S. currency) was involved in 38 percent of EFE SARs. Checks were involved in 24 percent of EFE SARs. Debit cards and credit cards were involved in 17 percent and 12 percent of EFE SARs, respectively.
The full CFPB data spotlight can be found here.