LYNN - Ask the average person to describe elder abuse and you may hear stories of grandpa whacking grandma over the head with a frying pan or giving her a shiner.

Investigators are keenly aware that such assaults do happen, but the real face of elder abuse comes in many forms and nearly all are more prevalent than physical violence.

“We have seen a spike in financial exploitation of the elderly in the past year or two, mostly due to the economy,” said Christine Malone, supervisor of Protective Services, a department of Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS).

Malone recalled a case in which the adult son of an elderly Lynn woman moved into her home, supposedly to help with repairs, shopping and other needs, yet did nothing.

A similar case involved another adult son who, knowing his mother was least coherent in the early morning, used that time of day to obtain her signature, giving him title to their home.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month in Massachusetts, with elder abuse included.

Still another instance of financial scamming was unveiled by a Lynn police officer working a Shaw’s supermarket private detail. According to Malone, an elderly woman was at the Western Union counter, trying to wire $10,000 to Jamaica.

“She was clearly not making choices that were in her best interest,” said Malone, noting that the police officer intervened before the money was sent to a con artist.

Social worker Katie Galenius, director of the Women’s Program at GLSS, said bank tellers are often the first to notice changes in a senior citizen’s mental state, which can lead to financial abuse. “They can tell when an elderly person is confused. If they have known the person for 20-something years, they are likely to see if they’re acting differently,” she said. “We also see financial abuse when it turns up in checking account balances or on credit card statements. It’s the niece who borrowed the elderly aunt’s debit card and withdrew $400 instead of $50.”

According to Galenius, self-neglect and neglect by caregivers top the list of offenses, followed by emotional, financial, sexual and physical abuse.

“Neglect is when you need medical services but the spouse won’t pay for them,” Galenius said.

Malone agreed. “It’s the elderly person who doesn’t want to spend any money to live comfortably because they might lose their home and the home represents their grandchildren’s inheritance. People certainly have a right to live the way they want, but they shouldn’t put themselves at risk,” she said.

She added that cases of neglect are occasionally controlled by medical issues, such as bi-polar conditions or paranoid schizophrenia when the person is scared to leave the home.

In some cases elders risk losing their subsidized apartments by allowing adult sons or daughters to reside with them. “They just won’t ask them to get out,” Malone said.

Galenius, who has a caseload of 40-50, said physical abuse typically begins early in a marriage with emotional abuse and isolation. “We here the same story over and over. The man can be very charming to others, but what goes on behind closed doors is different from what everybody thinks,” she said.

The investigators have seen and heard all kinds of stories, from the son or daughter who locked the elder parent in a bedroom to the husband who stuck his Alzheimer’s diseased wife (in a room) because she didn’t recognize him. Elderly parents have been threatened with nursing home placement unless they give their children money — a common occurrence, Galenius said.

Malone, who has 110 active cases, recalled one in which the alcohol-addicted son slit the tires on his mother’s car after she refused him money. The woman eventually gave in to the demands because it was easier.

Asian and Hispanic families are more reluctant to report elder abuse, preferring instead to handle it themselves, Galenius said.

Elizabeth Osbahr, a registered nurse and vice president of Danvers-based Professional Profiles, a company with about 100 home-care aides including those subcontracted to GLSS, said employees are trained to recognize abuse.

“Under the state’s Patient Abuse Statute, as home-care providers they report any signs or symptoms of abuse, neglect and misappropriation, which can be money, food or any part of the person’s property,” Osbahr said. “We don’t see much physical abuse, but the older people get the more dependent they get, which makes them vulnerable targets.”

The loss of sight, hearing and mobility all play key roles in opening up the potential for abuse. “If you can’t get to the bank because you can’t see, hear or walk, you might have lots of cash in your home,” she said. “We are doing loads of good stuff and there are a tremendous number of good home care aides, but that deviant world lives out there.”

Osbahr said aging Baby Boomers will add to the growing number of elderly, but loss of mobility may prove less of an impact since banking, shopping and other activities of daily living can be done via the Internet.

“More families are trying to keep their people home,” she said. “If someone is watching out for the person, that’s great. But we also see lots of hoarders, real hoarders, who are not in the system until they fall and emergency response comes into the house. That gets the person into the system so that somebody is actually monitoring them.”

Osbahr said the elderly should be encouraged to take advantage of GLSS and similar organizations. The state has 27 Aging Service Access Points (ASAPs) through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs that provide elder services in their respective regions.

“The ASAPs have a lot of resources,” she said.

GLSS also works with Neighborhood Legal Services and HAWC, a Salem-based emergency shelter and counseling service for victims of domestic abuse.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the latest data indicates that between 1 and 2 million Americans over age 65 have suffered abuse and that for each reported case about 5 more cases that remain unreported.

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