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In a November 4, 2026, Being Patient article, physician Catherine Madison describes financial scams affecting older adults and the added concern for people with memory loss or dementia. She recommends early family conversations, agreed account monitoring and steps to screen unwanted calls, while the article leaves broader evidence and case details limited.
Physician Catherine Madison warned in a November 4 Being Patient article that memory loss and cognitive impairment may make older adults more vulnerable to financial scams, and urged families to talk about financial safeguards before problems emerge. Her account draws on personal and professional experiences; it is not a new study measuring the scale of risk.
Madison, medical director of Seniors At Home and Rhoda Goldman Plaza and founding director of the CPMC Ray Dolby Brain Health Center, described scams involving impersonation, romance, technology support and supposed investments. She cited a Wall Street Journal report by Lori Ioannou that put losses from scams targeting seniors at $2.4 billion in 2024. That figure is presented in Madison’s article as a reported total, not as a figure independently examined in the piece.
Madison recounts cases in which people lost substantial sums. A woman she knew handed over tens of thousands of dollars for a fraudulent investment offer, she wrote; family monitoring of the accounts limited the damage. In another case, a close friend lost $70,000 from an account, and the bank had not identified how it was removed after more than a week of investigation, according to Madison.
She also described “Joe,” a man who lost several hundred thousand dollars over a year to someone he met online. The person built trust over months before asking for small payments that increased over time. Joe’s daughter discovered the losses during an annual visit, Madison wrote. The article also describes impersonation calls claiming a grandchild needs help and says such scams often seek prepaid cards.
How Cognitive Changes Can Raise Risk
The article highlights how financial fraud can have lasting consequences when the victim depends on savings for retirement. A loss that a younger person might have more time to recover from can reduce an older adult’s ability to meet future needs. Madison’s examples show that family members may not learn of the fraud until a visit or account review, particularly when the person is socially isolated.
Madison says memory loss and mild cognitive impairment have been associated with greater susceptibility to scams and vulnerability to financial exploitation. She also points to anosognosia—lack of awareness of one’s own impairment—as a possible added risk. These points are presented as the physician’s explanation, not as quantified findings from research cited in the article. The practical concern is that a person who does not recognize changes in judgment may be less likely to seek help or report a suspicious interaction.
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The Physician’s Cases and Advice
Madison writes from both clinical and personal experience: her mother had Alzheimer’s disease, and she says those caregiving lessons informed her work and her book, Navigating Memory Loss. The article combines that perspective with accounts of people affected by scams. It does not provide case records or independently verified details for the individual examples.
Her proposed safeguards include talking about finances and future planning early, framing the conversation as a topic the whole family should address rather than criticizing a parent’s decisions. She suggests considering phones that allow calls only from trusted contacts, regular reviews of accounts and credit reports, and family meetings to clarify roles. She also raises the possibility of a limited power of attorney for financial matters; families would need to understand the legal and personal implications before taking that step.
Being Patient labels the article Part 1 of a series on protecting against scams targeting older adults. Its editor’s note says a personal account from the publication’s Mark Niu, about stopping robocalls aimed at his mother with Alzheimer’s, was scheduled for the following Wednesday.
“Memory loss and mild cognitive impairment have been associated with a higher susceptibility to scams and financial exploitation vulnerability.”
— Catherine Madison, physician and author, in Being Patient
Evidence Behind the Risk Estimates
The article does not cite a specific study, method or population estimate for the association between cognitive impairment and scam vulnerability. Its personal cases illustrate possible harms but cannot show how common these experiences are. The cited $2.4 billion loss figure for 2024 is attributed to a Wall Street Journal report; Madison’s article does not explain how the total was calculated or what types of fraud it includes.
Several case details remain unresolved in the account, including how the $70,000 was taken and whether it was recovered. The article also does not establish how often scammers use AI-generated voices or images, or quantify the effectiveness of the suggested safeguards. Its reference to a typical $4,000 loss in grandchild-impersonation scams is not accompanied by a source or methodology in the text provided.
A Follow-Up on Robocall Protections
Being Patient said the next installment was expected the following Wednesday and would feature Mark Niu’s personal account of stopping robocalls targeting his mother with Alzheimer’s. The article does not specify publication details beyond that notice. For families considering Madison’s suggestions, the immediate steps described are to start a non-judgmental conversation, agree on account and credit monitoring, and discuss who should be contacted when an unfamiliar financial request arrives.
Key Questions
What did Catherine Madison report?
Madison described financial scams affecting older adults and warned that memory loss or mild cognitive impairment may increase vulnerability. She also shared cases from her experience and suggested family-based safeguards.
How much did the article say seniors lost to scams?
Madison cited a Wall Street Journal report that put losses from scams targeting seniors at $2.4 billion in 2024. Her article does not provide the underlying calculation or further detail on the estimate.
What safeguards did Madison suggest?
She recommended early, non-confrontational family discussions, regular reviews of accounts and credit reports, trusted-contact phone settings and family meetings to clarify responsibilities. She also mentioned considering a limited financial power of attorney.
Did the article establish that AI scams are common?
No. Madison said scammers are using AI-generated audio and visual messages, but the article does not quantify how frequently they are used or provide independent data on their prevalence.
What was planned for the next part of the series?
Being Patient said its next installment would feature Mark Niu’s personal account of stopping robocalls targeting his mother, who has Alzheimer’s. The editor’s note said it was expected the following Wednesday.
Source: beingpatient.com
