Protecting Your Money While It Is Still Yours to Protect

Money is often one of the first things dementia touches, and scammers know it. A few hours of setup now keeps you in charge longer, not less.

Why is money one of the first things affected?

Managing money uses exactly the skills dementia affects early: keeping track, planning, spotting what does not add up. It often slips quietly, before anyone notices.

A 2021 study in JAMA Internal Medicine linked the credit reports of 81,364 Medicare beneficiaries living alone with their medical records. People who were later diagnosed with Alzheimer's or a related dementia were more likely to miss bill payments as early as six years before their diagnosis, and their credit scores began falling into the subprime range about two and a half years before. People who were never diagnosed did not show the same pattern.

That is not a reason for shame. It is a reason to put guardrails in place now, while you are the one choosing them. The goal is not to hand over your money. It is to make the expensive mistakes harder to make, and the scams harder to pull off.

What should I set up first?

Autopay for the bills that cannot be missed, a trusted contact on your accounts, and a credit freeze. Each takes less than an hour.

• Autopay the essentials. Mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance premiums, property taxes if you can. A missed insurance payment can mean lapsed coverage. Keep a small buffer in the account they come from.
• Name a trusted contact. Since 2018, FINRA Rule 4512 has required brokerage firms to ask for one when you open or update an account. The firm can contact that person if it suspects financial exploitation, cannot reach you, or has concerns about your health. A trusted contact cannot move money or make trades. Under a companion rule, the firm can also place a temporary hold on a suspicious withdrawal. Ask your bank and retirement plan whether they offer something similar.
• Freeze your credit. A credit freeze stops new accounts being opened in your name. It is free to place and free to lift, it does not affect your credit score, and you place it separately with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. If you need a loan later, you lift it temporarily.

How do I let someone help without giving up control?

Read-only access, duplicate statements and alerts. Someone you trust sees what you see, but only you can act.

• View-only access. Many banks and investment firms let you give another person access to see your accounts without the ability to move money. Ask what yours offers.
• Duplicate statements mailed or emailed to a family member.
• Transaction alerts for withdrawals or purchases over an amount you choose, sent to you and to them.
• A monthly money check-in. Fifteen minutes with someone you trust, looking at the statements together. It catches errors early and keeps you part of every decision.
• A durable power of attorney for finances, signed now, so someone you chose can step in later if needed without a court. Our article on the decisions that are still yours explains what to sign first, including the separate Social Security form a power of attorney does not cover.

How do I avoid scams?

Use one rule for every call, text, email or visitor that asks for money or account details: hang up, and call back on a number you look up yourself.

Scammers target older people, and some deliberately target people with memory problems. A common pattern in caregiver groups is a caller who is refused by a family member and then calls back later, asking for the person when they are home alone.

Simple rules that work:

• Never pay with gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency or a payment app to someone you have not met. Legitimate agencies and companies do not ask for these.
• Government agencies do not call demanding immediate payment. Social Security, Medicare and the IRS do not threaten arrest over the phone.
• "Your grandchild is in trouble" calls are a known scam. Hang up and call your grandchild or their parent directly.
• Urgency is the warning sign. Anyone who says you must act right now, or must not tell your family, is almost certainly a scammer.
• Keep a short note by the phone with the hang-up-and-call-back rule and the number of the person you trust most.

If you think you have been scammed, call your bank right away, then report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Being targeted says nothing about your intelligence. Scammers fool people with and without dementia every day.

What about bigger decisions, like selling a house or changing a will?

Make them with someone you trust in the room, and take your time. Big money decisions are the ones most worth slowing down.

Pressure to sell, invest, lend or change a will quickly is a warning sign, even when it comes from someone you know. A good rule: any decision over an amount you choose, perhaps a few thousand dollars, waits 48 hours and gets talked through with your trusted person first. You decide the amount. Writing it down now, while it is your choice, makes it easier to hold to later.