How to protect yourself against financial abuse

Financial abuse can happen to anyone, no matter their age, wealth, or education. It occurs when someone:

• Takes away access to money
• Manipulates a person’s financial decisions
• Uses their money without consent.

This abuse is a form of control that makes the victim feel scared, alone, and dependent on the abuser.

Our Senior Manager, Financial Crimes Investigations and Systems, 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 says a person can be financially abusive in different ways.² Some signs of financial abuse are when a person controls access to your money. They may:

• Restrict your access to bank accounts, credit cards or cash
• Make you ask permission to spend your own money
• Deny you access to the internet, phone or transport to prevent you from working or studying
• Refuse to contribute to shared costs or child support
• Refuse to provide you with enough money for living expenses or for costs related to raising children.

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

• Check your credit report
• Keep important documents in a safe place
• Check 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’ super accounts against fraud.

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

Ms Mallett said there are measures you can take to keep your finances safe:

• Add additional levels of security over your super
• Put extra security questions, or a password, on your account/s. That way, somebody must answer specific questions about you, before they are allowed to get into your account
• Contact your super fund straight away if you notice any unusual activity.

“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 a number you know is genuine or look up the number on the website,” Ms Mallett said.

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 notice the coercive behaviour.”

If you think someone you know is being financially abused:

• Talk to them and let them know your concerns.
• Offer help. If they don’t want help, don’t give up. It can be difficult for anyone to leave an abusive situation, especially if it involves family members.
• Keep checking on them and offering your support.