Maybe this is more of a general IT or computer security issue but figured it was worth posting here for broader insights.

Long story short: my adult nephew, who lives at home, is consistently blocking me from communicating with my sister (text message, Facebook, Instagram, email, etc…). He has full access to her phone (iPhone 13 Pro) and computers. He's accusing me of brainwashing her and turning her against him.

Some context here, she recently inherited over 2 million dollars but prior to that essentially held service sector jobs and never had access to job benefits similar to what you might find on the corporate side. Since the windfall she now has access to an HDHP plan with an HSA now, access to IRAs, Roth IRAs, taxable brokerage accounts, etc…

I helped her structure her asset allocation to generate some semblance of a fixed income pension that doesn't draw down on principal, and helped her set up a series of savings and money market accounts across a variety of retail banks in her part of town.

For all intents and purposes she is self retired and can maintain her current standard of living independently and indefinitely.

In the past periodically, when my sister was unresponsive to text messages or phone calls, I would brush it off but maybe a couple of years ago we both discovered that my number along with others had been added to her “blocked contacts” within settings on her iPhone. It recently became a bit of a joke where at Thanksgiving or funerals someone would ask her in person if she can quickly go into settings and “unblock” them.

Recently since her financial windfall, it's become increasingly difficult to get in touch with her. We've had to resort to using mutual contacts to relay a message or physically drop in for a house visit. She recently no-showed to a few family functions and when we asked her about it she said she never got the invite, saw the message, or was told there was a change in time, or that it was cancelled.

We've confronted my nephew about it a month ago and he denies doing anything intentional and suggested either someone else is doing it or someone hit the wrong button. This seems a bit unlikely to me since to block someone on the current version of iOS you really have to scroll down to do it and the adjacent buttons are not typical functions for a contact. The conversation got heated enough that he accused everyone of turning his mom against him and he launched into a hostile and vindictive litany of grievances and accusations before driving off in his car.

The issue started to become acute due to tax season and her financial situation has become complicated enough that documentation and proper filing is something that needs to be fairly proactive and intentional and can't be put off till the last minute. I was supposed to help her with her Roth IRA contributions and consolidating all of the forms, etc… for the accountant and had a very difficult time getting in touch. I had to resort to emailing her from my corporate info@ account. All other addresses were blocked.

I was also cc'd on her main brokerage and retirement accounts and noticed some unusual transactions before I stopped receiving all notifications entirely. A banker we both share asked me if everything was ok with her, I asked him what he meant and he said he couldn't say.

I'm starting to suspect my nephew is intentionally and systematically isolating my sister from the rest of her family and friends and that this is raising to the level of elder abuse even though my sister in only 42 years old and is physically and mentally active.

Over the last two weeks I've received several messages from friends and family obliquely inquiring if I've been in contact with my sister. She is still very active on social media and most family members are able to like and comment on her posts but the inability to inbox her or have a private conversation is becoming an area of concern. The last time we met I had to comment on her story to arrange a coffee meetup.

Is there a way to safeguard her device and online security and privacy? Setting up FaceID and TouchID seems like a no-brainer but I'm trying to be as wholistic and comprehensive as possible. She has a current iPhone, 2 older ones in a junk drawer, 2 iPads, a laptop and an HTPC.

When pressed on the issue directly, she dismisses it as harmless or nothing to worry about but I feel it is bordering on some form of abuse.

Many thanks in advance!