Janet’s Story (financial abuse)

Janet appreciated her grandson helping her to run errands.  Since her husband’s death, simple things like getting groceries or getting to the bank had become difficult for her.  Her grandson, Nicholas, had offered to help and for awhile it seemed like the perfect arrangement.  He would take her to the bank and wait while she deposited her cheque and withdrew the cash she needed.  Nicholas then drove her wherever she needed to do her shopping.

As winter approached Nicholas told Janet it would probably be much easier on her if he just did the errands for her while she stayed warm and cozy at home.  Because he had been so helpful for so many months, Janet thought nothing of signing her pension cheque over to her grandson, who would make her purchases and deposit the rest in her account.

It took several months to realize that Nicholas had not, in fact, been depositing the balance in her account.  He did her shopping as needed, but pocketed the difference, causing Janet’s account to dwindle.  It wasn’t until a cheque she had written to cover her insurance had bounced that Janet realized her grandson had been helping himself to her pension.


The characters and events depicted in this scenario are entirely fictitious.  Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.