Financial or material abuse
Financial or material abuse can take the form of fraud, theft or using a vulnerable adults property without their permission. This could involve large sums of money or just small amounts from a pension or allowance each week.
If you spot any of these signs, it could mean the person is experiencing financial or material abuse:
- sudden withdrawal from bank account or sudden inability to pay bills
- purchase of items that the individual does not need or use, or personal items going missing
- extraordinary interest from family members in the vulnerable adult's assets
- Power of Attorney is obtained when the person is unable to understand what they are signing
- the person managing the finances is evasive and uncooperative
Cuckooing
Financial abuse may also encompass cuckooing.
Cuckooing is a term used to describe the practice of taking over the home of a vulnerable person and using it as a place to live, or to:
- deal, store or take drugs
- facilitate sex work
- financially abuse the tenant
The practice is associated with county lines drug trafficking.
Signs that a person may be experiencing cuckooing include:
- signs of drug use and open drug dealing.
- unexplained presence of cash, clothes and other items of value. Conversely, the property may appear almost sparse of valuable possessions inside and begin to go into a state of disrepair both inside and out
- presence of unknown people in the property, who may act as friends of the inhabitant
- person appears withdrawn or frightened of disclosing information
- more people than normal entering the property, or people arriving and leaving at unusual times
- possible increase in anti-social behaviour in and around the property and increased litter such as drinks cans and takeaway packaging outside the property
Financial abuse or exploitation is a crime and should be reported to the police. You can report this via their non-emergency line 101.