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Research conducted by the Investor Protection Trust (IPT) and Investor Protection Institution (IPI) finds that “elder exploitation” is increasing, with more people taking money and property from older Americans. Even more shocking, most of the perpetrators are family members. Caregivers and strangers are also guilty.

The organizations polled state securities regulators, law enforcement officials, financial planner, health care professionals and others who report that they’re seeing higher instances of theft from older Americans, with the study also finding that the elderly are “very vulnerable.”

Financial services company MetLife reported last year that older Americans were robbed to the tune of $2.9 billion in 2010. That’s up from $2.6 billion in 2008.

“Some older Americans are too embarrassed to disclose financial abuse. Some lack the tools to find a good financial adviser and may not have the knowledge to understand investment advice. Others may be susceptible to fraud because of diminished mental capacity,” USA Today reports.

Don Blandin, president and CEO of the Investor Protection Trust suggests that collaboration between health professionals, who can detect diminished mental capacity in elderly patients, regulators and other officials will prevent some of these crimes.

“Putting a major dent in the problem will require new and innovative collaborative efforts by many different experts and organizations, both public and private,” he said in a statement.

We reported a couple of weeks ago that about half of Americans are dying broke. This could be part of the reason why. Keep an eye out for your loved ones’ finances. If you find that money is missing, bills are going unpaid, or belongings have disappeared, take action.

Life in these United States is tough enough without being badgered by government reports that give us both good news and not-so-good news. The latest such report released a few weeks ago by the Centers for Disease Control announced just how long young Americans can expect to live.

The good news: babies born in 2009 are expected to live longer than ever – till the ripe old age of 78.  Reportedly, improved medical treatments, vaccinations, and public health campaigns against smoking are having a beneficial effect on life spans. As such, American life expectancy is now longer – by several months – than projections calculated in 2008.

The not-so-good news: life expectancy for African-Americans didn’t rise at all. In fact, based on CDC findings, white babies born in 2009 can expect to celebrate a birthday in 2087, but black babies overall are expected to live only until 2082. On average, blacks will die nearly four and a half years earlier due to a range of health disparities and higher rates of homicide.

With this CDC report now on file, we identified several “exceptions” to the rule of black life expectancy—people who have stretched their lives over the course of three different centuries.

Daisey Bailey

113 years, 342 days

(March 30, 1896 – March 7, 2010 – verified)

Until her death, Bailey was the oldest living African American; however, there were conflicting reports as to whether she was the fourth or the fifth oldest person in the world. Born and raised in Watertown, TN, Bailey worked on a plantation there. In 1910, at age 14, she married Will Ready, who died in the 1930s. She also outlived a second husband—and all four of her children.

Secret to longevity: praying, loving, forgiving and eating lots of vegetables. She also drank whiskey.