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In a Nov. 4, 2026, Being Patient article, physician Catherine Madison described how scams can compound the financial harm of memory loss, drawing on cases involving older adults and people she knows. She recommends early, respectful family conversations and practical safeguards; the article does not establish how common scams are among people with dementia.
Physician Catherine Madison used a Nov. 4 article for Being Patient to describe how financial scams can compound the effects of memory loss, recounting cases involving older adults and people in her circle. Her account highlights potential risks for people with cognitive impairment and outlines ways families can discuss finances and reduce exposure, but it is a physician’s commentary rather than a new research study or government report.
Madison, medical director of Seniors At Home and Rhoda Goldman Plaza and founding director of the CPMC Ray Dolby Brain Health Center, wrote that memory loss and mild cognitive impairment have been associated with greater susceptibility to scams and financial exploitation. She suggested that a person’s limited awareness of their own cognitive difficulties may add to that vulnerability. The article does not provide study details or quantify the risk for people with dementia.
Her examples include a friend whose account was missing $70,000, with the bank still investigating after more than a week, and “Joe,” a man she worked with who lost several hundred thousand dollars over a year to someone he met online. Madison said the person built trust over months before requesting small sums that grew. Joe’s family lived abroad, and his daughter discovered the situation during an annual visit.
Madison also pointed to phone scams in which a caller claims to be a grandchild in urgent need of money, sometimes asking for help buying a prepaid card. She said AI-generated voice impersonation can make such calls more convincing. The report cited an average loss of $4,000 for this type of scam, but did not identify the underlying data source or define its measurement period.
How Fraud Can Threaten Retirement Security
Financial exploitation can have consequences beyond the money lost. For an older adult living on retirement savings, a large theft may be difficult to recover from, while memory or judgment difficulties can make it harder to recognize a scheme or respond quickly. Madison’s account illustrates how isolation and delayed discovery may leave families with fewer opportunities to intervene.
The examples are personal accounts, not a measure of how often these events occur. Still, they point to a practical concern for families: a person who has memory changes may need support with financial safety, while still retaining dignity and involvement in decisions. Madison recommends raising the subject before cognitive impairment develops, rather than waiting for a suspected scam or financial loss.
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The Safeguards Madison Recommends
Madison wrote that scammers may exploit trust, loneliness and access to older adults’ accumulated assets. She referenced a Wall Street Journal article reporting $2.4 billion in losses in 2024 from scams targeting seniors. Separately, her piece states that seniors lose $3 billion annually to fraud. These figures are presented with different time frames and without supporting methodology in the article, so they should not be treated as directly comparable.
Her suggested steps include discussing scams as a family, agreeing to talk over financial or investment offers before acting, and using a phone that can block unknown callers while allowing trusted contacts through. She also recommends regular review of bank accounts and credit reports, family meetings to revisit responsibilities, and considering a limited power of attorney for financial matters. Such arrangements depend on individual circumstances and applicable rules.
Madison advises introducing planning as a shared concern—for example, asking a parent for input on financial safeguards that an adult child is considering for themselves. She cautions against confronting someone by listing perceived mistakes, which, in her experience, can prompt defensiveness. The article presents these approaches as practical suggestions, not as a tested intervention with guaranteed results.
““Memory loss and mild cognitive impairment have been associated with a higher susceptibility to scams and financial exploitation vulnerability.””
— Catherine Madison, physician and Being Patient contributor
What the Article Does Not Establish
Madison’s account does not provide a new dataset, prevalence estimate or clinical study measuring scam exposure among people with memory loss. The financial-loss figures it cites are not accompanied by full sourcing or methodology in the article, and the stated $4,000 average for grandchild-impersonation scams has no time window or comparison baseline there. Her personal examples illustrate possible harms but cannot show how typical those cases are.
It is also unclear from the account whether the bank recovered any of the missing $70,000, what caused the withdrawal, or what legal or financial remedies were available to the people described. The piece does not evaluate the effectiveness of its proposed safeguards or specify when a family should use a power of attorney. Those questions depend on case-specific facts and may require advice from qualified legal or financial professionals.
A Follow-Up on Robocall Scams
Being Patient identified Madison’s article as Part 1 of a series on protecting older adults from scams. The publication said Part 2 was due the following Wednesday and would feature contributor Mark Niu’s account, “How I Stopped the Robocalls Targeting My Mother With Alzheimer’s.” The series may add a personal account of one family’s response, but no broader findings or policy changes were announced in the report.
For families, Madison’s immediate recommendation is to begin discussing financial safety early and revisit agreed safeguards over time. The article does not set out a formal timetable or a single approach for every household.
Key Questions
What did Catherine Madison report?
Madison described cases in which older adults lost money to scams and argued that memory loss or mild cognitive impairment may increase vulnerability. Her piece is a physician’s commentary, not a new population study.
What kinds of scams did the article describe?
Examples included fake investment offers, online relationships that develop into requests for money, technology-support and government-impersonation schemes, and callers pretending to be a grandchild in need. Madison also warned that AI voice impersonation may make some calls harder to assess.
What safeguards did Madison suggest?
She suggested early family conversations, checking unfamiliar financial offers together, blocking unknown callers where possible, reviewing accounts and credit reports regularly, and holding family meetings about responsibilities. She also mentioned considering a limited power of attorney for financial matters.
Does the article show how common scams are among people with dementia?
No. It cites a general association between cognitive impairment and scam vulnerability, but gives no study methods or estimate of how many people with dementia experience financial exploitation.
What comes next in the series?
Being Patient said the next installment would be Mark Niu’s personal account of stopping robocalls targeting his mother, who has Alzheimer’s. The article announced it for the following Wednesday after the Nov. 4 publication.
Source: beingpatient.com
