Your Parent Keeps Falling for Scams — Can You Limit Their Access to Money?

The first scam may cost $200 in gift cards; the next could involve a bank transfer, cryptocurrency ATM, or someone claiming the family’s savings must be moved immediately to a “safe” account. For adult children, repeated incidents can create an agonizing question: can you simply step in and stop a parent from accessing enough money to be victimized again?

Usually, you can’t unilaterally take control of a competent adult’s finances simply because you disagree with their decisions, but there are protections families can put in place with the parent’s cooperation and stronger legal options when someone can no longer manage money safely.

The stakes are substantial: the Federal Trade Commission reported that adults 60 and older reported $2.4 billion in fraud losses in 2024, up from about $600 million in 2020. Here is what everyone needs to know about protecting elderly parents from scams.

Start With Alerts Instead of Taking Away Control

If your parent is still capable of managing money, the easiest first step may be adding oversight without changing who owns or controls the accounts. Ask the bank or credit union about transaction alerts for large withdrawals, transfers, unusual card purchases, new payees, or other activity that could signal trouble, and have your parent decide who receives those alerts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends that older adults work with their financial institutions and trusted people to create protections against financial exploitation. A family might agree, for example, that Mom keeps using her checking account normally but her daughter receives an alert whenever a transfer exceeds $1,000. For protecting elderly parents from scams, this preserves far more independence than simply trying to confiscate a checkbook or debit card.

A Trusted Contact Doesn’t Get Control of the Money

A trusted contact can add another layer of protection, particularly on investment accounts, without turning the adult child into a joint owner. FINRA explains that brokerage firms can contact this person in situations involving possible financial exploitation or difficulty reaching the customer.

Importantly, a trusted contact isn’t automatically authorized to trade securities, withdraw cash, or otherwise take over the account. The CFPB similarly explains that trusted contacts can be notified about suspected exploitation without receiving access to the person’s money. That makes this option particularly useful for parents who want a safety net but understandably don’t want to surrender financial independence.

Don’t Add Yourself as Joint Owner Without Understanding the Consequences

Families sometimes respond to repeated scams by putting an adult child directly on Mom or Dad’s checking account, but that seemingly simple solution can create new problems. The CFPB’s guidance on helping someone with banking warns consumers to understand account arrangements carefully, including whether a joint account gives the other person rights to the money after the original owner’s death. Joint ownership can also affect control of the funds while both people are alive, so it shouldn’t be treated as merely adding an extra pair of eyes to an account.

Ask the financial institution exactly what authority each account structure provides and consider consulting an elder-law or estate-planning attorney about the consequences in your state. When protecting elderly parents from scams, the solution shouldn’t accidentally create a different financial or estate problem.

A Power of Attorney Can Provide Real Financial Authority

A financial power of attorney is much more powerful than being an emergency contact or receiving account alerts. The CFPB defines a power of attorney as a legal document allowing another person to act on someone’s behalf, and it can be an important planning tool when illness or diminished capacity could eventually interfere with financial decisions.

Depending on how the document is drafted and state law, an appointed agent may be able to handle banking, pay bills, manage property, and perform other specified financial tasks. However, granting someone POA doesn’t necessarily mean the parent immediately loses the ability to use their own accounts, so families shouldn’t assume it automatically blocks future scam payments. Because POA laws and documents differ, an attorney can help create an arrangement appropriate to the parent’s circumstances rather than relying on a generic form downloaded after a crisis begins.

Managing Someone’s Money Creates Serious Responsibilities

Getting authority over a parent’s finances isn’t simply permission to stop purchases you don’t approve of. Someone acting as a fiduciary has legal responsibilities, and the CFPB says those include acting in the person’s best interest, managing money carefully, keeping the person’s property separate from their own, and maintaining good records.

That means an adult child managing Dad’s accounts shouldn’t casually reimburse themselves, combine his money with household funds, or make gifts because “that’s what Dad would have wanted” without appropriate authority. Keep receipts, statements, payment records, and notes explaining significant financial decisions, particularly if siblings or other relatives could eventually question what happened. Protecting elderly parents from scams must also include protecting the parent from misuse by the very person entrusted with helping them.

Investment Firms May Be Able to Pause Suspicious Transactions

Sometimes the financial institution itself can provide breathing room when exploitation appears to be happening. Under FINRA Rule 2165, brokerage firms meeting the rule’s requirements may place temporary holds on certain securities transactions or disbursements when they reasonably believe financial exploitation of a specified adult has occurred, is occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted.

That’s especially relevant to today’s impersonation scams, where criminals create a false emergency and pressure victims to move retirement savings before they have time to talk with anyone.

FTC data show reports from adults 60 and older involving impersonation-scam losses of $10,000 or more increased more than fourfold from 2020 to 2024. If your parent suddenly wants to liquidate investments or transfer a large sum after an unsolicited call, contacting the financial institution’s fraud department immediately can be more useful than arguing about the scam for hours.

When Capacity Is Gone, Court Intervention May Be Necessary

The hardest situation occurs when a parent appears unable to understand financial decisions but hasn’t previously given anyone sufficient legal authority to intervene. The CFPB notes that without advance planning such as a power of attorney, family or friends may ultimately need to pursue appointment of a guardian if someone becomes incapacitated, a process that can be lengthy, expensive, and public.

Terminology and procedures differ by state, and determining legal capacity isn’t something an adult child should try to diagnose independently because poor judgment alone doesn’t necessarily establish incapacity. An elder-law attorney can explain the applicable guardianship or conservatorship process, what evidence is required, and whether a less restrictive alternative exists. Court intervention is a significant loss of autonomy, which is precisely why planning for protecting elderly parents from scams is easier before repeated losses become a full-blown financial emergency.

Build Guardrails Before the Next Scammer Calls

The best protection usually isn’t immediately taking away a parent’s money but creating layers that make a successful scam harder to complete. Start with account alerts, trusted contacts, frank conversations with the bank, and an agreement that large or unusual transfers get discussed with another person before money moves; then consider formal legal planning while your parent can participate meaningfully in those decisions. If authority does become necessary, understand exactly what a POA, fiduciary appointment, or court order allows instead of informally taking over accounts. Families can also use the CFPB’s free guides for managing someone else’s money to understand the responsibilities attached to different financial-caregiver roles.

Have you ever tried to help a parent who repeatedly trusted scammers, and what financial safeguard finally made a difference?