Older abusers (those over 65 years) are more likely to be husbands.In 2007, 4766 cases of suspected abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation involving older adults were reported, an increase of 9 percent over 2006. 19 incidents were related to a death, and a total of 303 incidents were considered life-threatening. About one in 11 incidents involved a life-threatening or fatal situation.In 2012, the study called Pure Financial Exploitation vs. Hybrid Exploitation Co-Occurring With Physical Abuse and/or Neglect of Elderly Persons by Shelly L. Jackson and Thomas L. Hafemeister brought attention to the hybrid abuse that elderly persons can experience. This study revealed that victims of hybrid financial exploitation or HFE lost an average of $185,574, a range of $20–$750,000. Barriers to obtaining statistics
Several conditions make it hard for researchers to obtain accurate statistics on elder abuse. Researchers may have difficulty obtaining accurate elder abuse statistics for the following reasons:

Elder abuse is largely a hidden problem and tends to be committed in the privacy of the elderly persons home, mostly by his or her family members. Elder abuse victims are often unwilling to report their abuse for fear of others disbelief, fear of loss of independence, fear of being institutionalized, fear of losing their only social support (especially if the perpetrator is a relative), and fear of being subject to future retaliation by the perpetrator(s). Elder abuse victims cognitive decline and ill health may prevent them from reporting their abuse.
Older people living alone who have no adult children living nearby are particularly vulnerable to "grooming" by neighbors and friends who would hope to gain control of their estates. The majority of abusers are relatives, typically the older adults spouse/partner or sons and daughters, although the type of abuse differs according to the relationship. In some situations the abuse is "domestic violence grown old," a situation in which the abusive behavior of a spouse or partner continues into old age. In some situations, an older couple may be attempting to care and support each other and failing, in the absence of external support. In the case of sons and daughters, it tends to be that of financial abuse, justified by a belief that it is nothing more than the "advance inheritance" of property, valuables, and money. Though corporate abusers, such as brokerage firms and bank trust companies have been considered too regulated to be able to abuse the elderly, cases of such abuse have been reported. Such corporate abuse might escape notice both because they have more aptitude at methods of abuse that can go undetected and because they are protected by attorneys and the government in ways that individuals are not. Within paid care environments, abuse can occur for a variety of reasons. Some abuse is the willful act of cruelty inflicted by a single individual upon an older person.