How to protect yourself against financial abuse

Financial abuse does not discriminate. It can be carried out against anyone, no matter how old someone is, how much money they have, or how educated they are.

Financial abuse occurs when someone takes away access to money, manipulates a person’s financial decisions, or uses their money without consent.

It is a form of coercive control that generally involves influence and intimidation to make a victim scared, isolated and dependent on the abuser.

Australian Retirement Trust’s Financial Crimes Officer Rebecca Mallett says financial abuse can be hard to identify.

“It’s difficult to define financial abuse as it is a form of coercive control that can be subtle and innocuous,” Ms Mallett said. “Often people have no idea that it is going on until much later, or sadly when it is too late.”

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s MoneySmart service lists signs that may indicate someone may be in a financially abusive relationship² which includes someone who:

• Controls access to your bank accounts, credit cards or other money, or uses them without consent
• Makes you ask permission to spend your own money
• Hurts or punishes you if you don’t give them money
• Forces or pressures you to sign documents you don’t understand
• Takes out loans or withdraws your money, including superannuation, without your permission
• Takes out debts in your name or pressures you to sign up for loans and credit cards
• Makes you feel stupid or that you can’t be trusted with money.

If you are in a violent or controlling relationship, it is important, if you can, to have an exit strategy and money that your partner cannot access. There are things you can do to protect your finances, including:

• Check your credit report
• Keep important documents in a safe place
• Check in on your finances regularly
• Never sign something you don't understand
• Seek independent and confidential financial or legal advice.

As a financial crimes officer, Ms Mallett works to guard members’ superannuation accounts against fraudulent behaviour.

In some financial abuse cases, she said, partners are being coerced into accessing superannuation early.

Ms Mallett said there are measures you can take to keep your finances such as superannuation, safe, which include:

• Adding additional levels of security over your super
• Putting extra security questions, or a password, over your account/s, so that somebody must answer specific questions about you, before they are allowed to get into your account
• Contacting your superannuation fund straight away if you notice any unusual activity.

“Pay attention to what you should know,” Ms Mallett said. “If your fund sends you a message, get in contact with them immediately. But don’t respond to the number that might be in a text message; call them on the detail that you know or look up the number on the website.”

It often takes someone outside the relationship to identify that financial abuse occurs, Ms Mallett said.

“As victims are not physically harmed, they don’t think that their partner manipulating or controlling their money is abuse,” she said. “But when it starts to impact a person negatively, it is often a loved one who will tweak to the coercive behaviour.”

• Talk to the person you’re worried about and let them know your concerns.
• Offer help. If the person doesn’t want help, don’t give up. It can be difficult for anyone to leave an abusive situation, especially if it involves family members.
• Please keep checking in on them and continue to offer your support.