Stealing money and assets from old people is a growing problem in Tasmania.

The state's Public Trustee has warned people to be wary of the signs of elder financial abuse and to exercise care when giving authority to others to manage their financial affairs.

Public Trustee CEO Peter Maloney said yesterday that financial abuse of Tasmanian elders, often by a family member, friend, carer and in rare cases a professional, could be difficult to identify.

Financial abuse was defined as illegal or improper use of someone's assets - withholding funds failure to repay loans and using possessions without permission.

Mr Maloney said elderly people often were unaware of the abuse or were fearful of speaking up in case it destroyed relationships.

A recent Queensland study said 80 per cent of suspected financial abuse cases involved close family members.

Such statistics were not available for Tasmania, but Mr Maloney said the same thing did occur in the state.

He said there had been many instances where the Public Trustee had been appointed the financial administrator of an elder who was financially abused.

He said cases ranged from bills left unpaid, attempts to change wills at the last minute, misuse old elderly assets and small or large withdrawals from bank accounts.

Mr Maloney urged Tasmanians to not rely solely on the criminal justice system to prevent abuse.

"Increasingly, people are using an Enduring Power of Attorney document to appoint someone as their attorney to manage their financial affairs, should the need arise," he said.

"If you wish to execute an Enduring Power of Attorney, you must be absolutely confident that whoever you have appointed as your attorney will always act in your best interests."

He advised if anyone has any concerns about their attorney they should consider appointing a professional attorney.

Council on the Ageing Tasmania president John MacKean said elder abuse takes many forms, not just financial.

"There's psychological, physical, neglect, bullying and sexual abuse also," he said.

Mr MacKean said the community needed to do more to protect elders, a growing portion of the population.

"Fourteen per cent of the population is 65 and over and this is expected to double over the next 15 years," he said.

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