Mitigating the Risk of Digital Financial Exploitation.

The article by Zhang and colleagues in this issue of The Journal calls attention to an important but underrecognized problem facing today's seniors and their loved ones. The risk of digital financial exploitation, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has risen considerably in recent years and continues to rise today. Zhang et al. provide a helpful analysis of assessment tools currently available to forensic psychiatrists for the evaluation of financial capacity. Although many of these tools were not originally intended to encompass technologically based transactions, the risks of fraud and scams associated with payment apps, social media, and electronic fund transfers are considerable and growing. Fraudsters frequently target vulnerable older adults, and victims have lost large sums through some of the more prevalent schemes. Several strategies can help to mitigate the risk of severe losses and to increase the likelihood that lost assets can be recovered. Proactive education through increased awareness will prove helpful, but given the growing sophistication of modern digital cons, such as romance scams, increased technological safeguards are warranted in the setting of reduced financial capacity. When losses do occur, there are some resources for recovery and for filing complaints against perpetrators.

Daubert Considerations in Forensic Evaluations by Telepsychiatry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for telepsychiatric services. Forensic psychiatrists can expect to receive more requests for assessments conducted via videoconferencing technology in the years to come. Under current rules of evidence in the United States, the testimony of expert witnesses is introduced as a form of scientific evidence and may be challenged by opposing counsel through Daubert hearings. In a Daubert challenge, courts may evaluate proposed expert testimony through four criteria relating to scientific reliability and validity: whether the testimony is based on methods that emerge from a testable hypothesis, whether the method has been subjected to peer review, the known or potential rate of error associated with the method, and whether the method has achieved general acceptance in the relevant scientific community. To date, courts have not addressed whether testimony based on a telepsychiatric assessment would meet standards of reliability and validity for admission into evidence, as applied in a typical Daubert hearing. This article explores the Daubert standards and other potential objections to telepsychiatry as they may apply to forensic psychiatric examinations conducted via videoconferencing technology. The discussion also provides suggestions to evaluators to increase the likelihood of such testimony surviving a Daubert challenge.