If you believe you have detected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of or by clients, promptly contact an associate in Transactional Risk and Fraud Prevention (TR&FP). This includes elder abuse.
Overview
Both the law and common decency require Capital City Bank (CCB) associates to speak up when you suspect that a bank client, or any adult person, who is disabled or over the age of 60 (65 in Georgia) is the victim of ongoing or past physical or mental abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.
Always be alert for signs of a problem and take action whenever they appear. If you are unsure about whether to report, seek guidance from your supervisor, another associate, or the TR&FP. Promptly report suspected abuse to TR&FP, your local state Adult Protection Agency Hotline, and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
Failure to act on suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation could carry one or more of the following consequences:
- Our client could suffer irreversible harm.
- In Florida or Georgia, you could face criminal charges.
- CCB could be found willfully negligent and be forced to pay restitution and other damages.
- Failure to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) could subject the bank to penalties under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
- The bank could be the subject of very bad publicity.
What is Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation?
Abuse, neglect, and exploitation can take on many forms Click on the accordions below for more information.
Definitions
Abuse
Abuse is any willful act or threatened act by a relative, caregiver, or household member which causes or is likely to cause significant impairment to a vulnerable individual’s physical, mental, or emotional health. Abuse includes acts and omissions. Abuse is the deliberate infliction of physical or psychological injury to a person (aged or disabled).
Aged Person
An aged person is any person who is at least 60 years old and suffering from "the infirmities of aging" to the point where their ability to provide for their own care or protection is impaired.
The age in Georgia is 65.
Disabled Adult
A disabled adult is any person who is at least 18 years old with a physical or mental impairment that restricts their ability to perform the normal activities of daily living.
Exploitation
Exploitation occurs when a person who stands in a position of trust and confidence with a vulnerable individual knowingly, by deception or intimidation, obtains or uses funds, assets, or property with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive a victim of the use, benefit, or possession of funds, assets, or property.
Exploitation also occurs whenever any person knows (or should know) that the victim lacks the capacity to give consent and knowingly takes or receives the victim out of money or property for their own use of for the us of a person other than the victim. for the benefit of someone other than the vulnerable individual.
Mandated Reporter
An individual who is required by law to report when they suspect abuse, neglect, or exploitation is occurring. Both Florida and Georgia law specifically list “Any employee of a financial institution” as mandated reporters. Failure to report suspected abuse of at-risk adults is a misdemeanor.
Neglect
Neglect is the failure or omission on the part of a caregiver to provide the minimum of care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the physical and mental health of a vulnerable individual.
Signs of abuse, neglect or exploitation
Always be alert for signs of a problem and take action whenever they appear. If you are unsure, seek guidance from your supervisor, another associate or the Transactional Risk & Fraud Prevention Department (TR&FP).
Signs of possible elderly/disabled person abuse, neglect or exploitation include:
- Unexplained bruises, welts, burns or unhealed sores or untreated injuries.
- Confusion or nervousness; avoiding eye contact.
- Radical behavior changes; slowed, slurred or hesitant speech.
- Uncharacteristic changes in appearance or neglect of personal grooming.
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Unusual banking transactions, such as:
- Frequent or unusual large cash withdrawals, including by ATM.
- Sudden onset of NSF or overdraft activity.
- Inconsistent or unusual debit transactions.
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Strange personal interactions, such as:
- Client seeming confused or reluctant to discuss their financial status.
- Client starts coming in with new "friends", strangers or anyone else who shows excessive interest in or speaks for the client throughout the transaction.
- Client appears to fear or be submissive to the person accompanying them.
How to Report
If you witness something suspicious, but are unsure if you should report it, contact TR&FP.
- Finish assisting the client.
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Note: See the FAQs tab for what information you need to gather before you begin filing a report, as well as, what to expect from the process.
Select the appropriate method for reporting abuse in your state.
Select which hotline you would like to contact
800.458.7214
Contact local law enforcement agency
Select the method you wish to use to report.
Select the type of abuse you wish to report.
Division of Aging Services Adult Abuse Hotline: 866.552.4464
Contact your local Division of Family and Children Services.
If you chose to report by
Record the confirmation/case number the agent provides you when you finish reporting.
Before clicking Submit, click Print to print a copy of the report.
Scan the report to your e-mail as a PDF attachment.
After submitting the report to the appropriate external agency, you must notify our internal resources of the potential abuse. Follow the steps below to complete that process.
- Log in to Verafin. For instructions on how to log in to Verafin, see the Completing a UAR tab in the article Unusual Activity Referral (UAR).
- Fill out an Unusual Activity Report (UAR) - Fraud. For more information on how to file a UAR, click here.
- E-mail _Transactional Risk & Fraud Prevention the following information:
- Client's Name
- Name of the person accompanying them (if you can get it)
- Client's CIF
- Detailed description of the situation
- Case number or attach a copy of the full online report
- Indicate whether or not a UAR has been submitted through Verafin
FAQs
Click the accordions below to read through some frequently asked questions about reporting abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
What kind of information do you need from me when I file a report?
When contacting the Florida Abuse Hotline, please have as much of the information listed below available before you call. This information is important no matter who is reporting or what method they choose to report.
Note: If you are unable to obtain some of the information below, you may still call the Hotline and a counselor will assess the information available to see if it meets statutory criteria for the Department of Children and Families to initiate a protective investigation.
Be prepared to provide the following information:
- Reporter name (this is required for professionally mandated reporters)
- Victim name, possible responsible person, or alleged perpetrator name(s)
- Complete addresses for subjects, including a numbered street address, apartment or lot number, city, state, and zip code and/or directions to their location
- Telephone numbers, including area code
- Estimated or actual dates of birth
- Social Security numbers, if available
- A brief, yet concise, description of the abuse, neglect, abandonment, or exploitation, including physical, mental or sexual injuries, if any
- What happened to the victim?
- Who caused the harm?
- What were the affects to the victim?
- Any known history or frequency of the same or similar incidents.
- Names of other residents and their relationship to the victim(s), if available
- A brief description of the victim's disability or infirmity (required for vulnerable adults)
- The relationship of the alleged perpetrator to the victim
What kind of information do I need to have ready when I call?
Specific descriptions of the incident(s) or the circumstances contributing to the risk of harm, including who was involved, what occurred, when and where it occurred, why it happened, the extent of any injuries sustained, what the victim(s) said happened, and any other pertinent information are very important.
Information callers should have ready includes:
- Name, date of birth (or approximate age), race, and gender, for all adults and children involved.
- Addresses or another means to locate the subjects of the report, including current location.
- Information regarding disabilities and/or limitations of the victims (especially for vulnerable adult victims).
- Relationship of the alleged perpetrator to the child or adult victim(s).
- Other relevant information that would expedite an investigation, such as directions to the victim (especially in rural areas) and potential risks to the investigator, should be given to the Abuse Hotline Counselor.
Do I have to give my name?
No.
You do not have to give your name in order to make a report. Providing your name, however, is helpful in the event a protective investigator needs to ask you more questions or seek clarification about the information you provided to the Hotline Counselor.
The names of reporters are held confidential, and under Florida, Georgia, and Alabama Statutory requirements, are not released to the individuals the report is about.
Will the person(s) know I reported him or her?
All reports are confidential. Access to these reports is limited by specific criteria.
Abuse Hotline Counselors will not acknowledge the existence of any report, will not acknowledge that they have previously spoken to a particular caller, nor will they release any information provided by a caller or any information contained in a report.
Why did the counselor tell me they could not accept my report?
The most common reason for a report to not be accepted is a lack of information regarding the situation. When reporting suspected abuse it is important to provide as much clear and detailed information as possible regarding the situation.
Examples of Abuse
The following stories are real examples of neglect, abuse, and exploitation found on the Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative's website. This is not a comprehensive list; however these examples may be able to help you identify someone in need. Remember, if you feel like there could be something wrong but aren't sure, discuss it with your manager or reach out to Transactional Risk & Fraud Prevention.
| Type of Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation | Scenario |
|---|---|
| Neglect | Tamara, 76, lived alone but had trouble getting around. Her son and his wife asked Tamara to move in with them. Tamara had her own bedroom on the second floor and stayed there most of the time. She could not use the stairs easily. Her son and daughter-in-law both traveled frequently for work and sometimes neglected to give her adequate food and water. They also failed to groom her or to clean her room consistently. One day Tamara became dizzy, weak and disoriented so her daughter took her to the hospital. The hospital staff discovered that she was dehydrated, disheveled and obviously unwashed. They asked about her care but Tamara said she was well cared for. Nevertheless, as required by law, the hospital staff reported suspected neglect to Adult Protective Services (APS). |
| Financial Exploitation | Monte, 82, had moderate dementia and required guardianship due to his worsening disease. Unfortunately, Monte had never given his only son, Samson, Power of Attorney. Monte also no longer had sufficient mental capacity to execute a power of attorney for Samson, who now lived out of state. Monte’s personal assistant, John, handled all of Monte’s financial transactions for him. Samson was concerned about John’s access to his father’s finances and reviewed Monte’s account statements while visiting his father over the summer. Samson discovered that several times John had taken over $3000 from one of Monte’s little used accounts. Samson contacted the investment firm, local law enforcement and Adult Protective Services (APS) for help. |
| Financial Exploitation | Russell, 88, needed help managing his day to day affairs. His nephew, Jack was out of work and offered to come and live with Russell and help him while Jack looked for a job. Jack took his uncle to the bank saying he wanted to protect Russell’s money. Russell told the bank teller to add Jack to his bank accounts. Jack then downloaded a power of attorney (POA) form from the Internet and had Russell sign it. With the POA, Russell’s credit card company added Jack as a second user to his credit card. When Russell's sister visited him, she asked about the situation. Russell told her that he thought their nephew was stealing his money. She and Russell went to the bank and learned that Jack had spent a considerable amount of his uncle’s money. The sister alerted bank officials, Adult Protective Services (APS) and local law enforcement. Russell filed for an emergency civil protective order to have Jack removed from his home. |
| Psychological Abuse | Zoe, 79, was healthy, independent and lived with her unmarried daughter, Trish, to share expenses. Zoe believed they had a good relationship. Nevertheless, Trish sometimes yelled at Zoe, calling her horrible names and telling her she was worthless. Trish began threatening to put Zoe in a nursing home. Zoe tried to ignore these rants because she was grateful to live with her daughter. However, she thought she deserved to be safe from such comments. Zoe eventually told a close friend about Trish’s yelling and threats. The friend suggested that Trish and Zoe seek counseling and that Trish get respite help from a local Agency on Aging. |
| Financial Exploitation | A handyman convinced an elderly woman to give him power of attorney. He took out a reverse mortgage on the home which the woman had owned since the 1950s, and she never saw any of the money. She almost lost her home due to the scam. |
| Financial Exploitation | Carol appeared to take good care of the older adults, including veterans, who lived in the group home where she worked. Because most of the residents were disabled and had no family to represent them, Carol became the representative payee for their Social Security and Veteran’s Benefits. The regular postal carrier became curious when he started delivering over 30 envelopes from Social Security and Veteran’s Benefits to Carol's home each month. He thought she lived alone so he notified the local postal inspector through the US Postal Inspection Service hotline, Veterans Affairs, and Adult Protective Services (APS). |
| Physical Abuse | Monica, 79, was placed in a long term care facility when her ALS became severe and her family could no longer care for her. Her family became concerned when they saw bruising on her arms and back. Monica was not able to speak and could not tell her family how she got the bruises. Monica’s family asked the staff about the bruising but was not satisfied with the explanation. The family also noticed that when a certain aide helped bathe her, Monica became upset and agitated. They suspected that the aide was hitting Monica and called local law enforcement. |