ARANSAS PASS, Texas — It's the season of giving but there's bad actors out there wanting to take as much as they can.
"Last fiscal year we investigated 1,250 allegations of exploitation,” Marissa Back with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said.
That's the number of cases in the Coastal Bend alone. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said it's the elderly and disabled who are at risk.
"They report it to us and we loop in area agency on aging, we looping financial institutions to help us combat this and if there's a crime we loop in local law enforcement,” Back said.
Those groups mentioned, were at the training to discuss financial exploitation of vulnerable adults and everything that plays into it.
"We could not confirm what capacity our member was in. Did they really consent to that. “There might be other things going on with us that's not brain fog,” a Rally Credit Union presenter said.
Officers took notes and asked questions.
"There was a lot of information presented as far as methods of investigating financial crimes against the elderly and how to respond to people with dementia or Alzheimer's. It is something we use daily in our line of work,” Aransas Pass Assistant Chief Aaron Jones said.
By educating law enforcement about this it could help protect our most vulnerable neighbors.
"If something doesn't look right and it may not be something that constitutes a crime right then and there, they should still be calling us to look into it,” Back said.
Once law enforcement completes the training, they ‘ll be given 4 more hours of educational training to help keep their investigative skills sharp.
