You're listening to TED Talks Daily. I'm Elise Hugh.

The people who were once our protectors, like our parents and grandparents, are now in need of

protection from elder crime, says Attorney Jane Walsh. In her talk at TEDx Mile High in 2021,

she warns of an entire industry of predators taking advantage of senior citizens.

This actionable talk is a must listen if your friends or family are senior citizens so we can prevent their mistreatment.

When we're seven, getting older and turning eight sounds great.

Then, once we're in our teens, the very idea of getting older and being 16 is amazing.

But show me one single person who wakes up on their 50th birthday and says, wow, I can't wait till I'm 70.

Getting old's not for cussies. That's what my 90-year-old mother-in-law says when she's cross,

because something physically or mentally just isn't working the way it should and did years ago.

But there are other surprises ahead of us. There is something else that

goes along with aging, and it's not something we ever think about. One in ten adults over 60

will be abused during their lifetime. That is five million people every year. Even worse,

half of those who develop dementia will experience some

kind of abuse. And more often than not, the abuser will be a family member. We never think that this

is going to happen to us or to our loved ones, but it's happening right now to our parents, our grandparents and our neighbours.

I first learned that elder abuse was a thing when my dad fell victim to a classic elder scam.

He was retired and he was living alone.

And although he was hiding it really well, he was starting to struggle with tasks that had once been simple for him.

The medical term would probably be mild cognitive impairment.

Then, one day I found a detective's business card sitting on his kitchen table.

He'd been ripped off by a phony roofing contractor.

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