Elder Financial Abuse Awareness

What is Elder Financial Exploitation? 

• Elder Financial Exploitation occurs when a person misuses or takes the assets of a vulnerable elderly adult for his/her own personal benefit.

What makes our elderly customers increasingly vulnerable to fraud?

• Increase in assets that they have accrued over time compared to younger customer.
• If an elderly person does not have many family members or trusted friends, they can become increasingly lonely and trust the wrong people.
• an elderly person may experience an increase in health problems that can interfere with sound decision making.

 What are some Red Flags to look out for?

• Unusual or unexplained changes in financial habits.
• Abrupt or unexplained changes to wills, trusts, powers of attorney or beneficiaries.
• Reluctance to discuss financial matters.
• Fearful, distressed, submissive or confused behavior.

Mobile Deposit Check Fraud

Mobile deposit has rapidly become one the most convenient ways to deposit a check. Simply snap a photo and deliver the image through the mobile banking app. But with every convenience there is a potential for fraud. Fraudsters are devising new scams while posing as prospective employers or lenders, and we want you to be on guard against these tactics.

How the Scam Works:

• Fraudsters contact their victims through email, social media or websites such as Craigslist, posing as a potential employer or lender.
• The fraudster will oftentimes provide the victim with an opportunity to earn quick money by depositing a check into the victim's account or by asking for help in moving money from overseas.
• The fraudster will often request bank account information and may even ask for online or mobile banking information.

Here are Three Helpful Tips:

• NEVER give out personal information. This includes debit/credit card numbers, PINs, bank account numbers and any online or mobile banking login information.
• If you are offered money in exchange for personal information, it's a SCAM!
• Check your online bank statements and mobile banking REGULARLY. If you see something unfamiliar, call us immediately.

Preventing Identity Theft

Identity theft is the use of another person’s identity for economic gain. Anyone can be a victim of identity theft and people often put themselves at risk unknowingly. Identity thieves can steal assets in multiple ways. Two common methods involve identity thieves using existing accounts to make purchases, pay for services, or withdraw money and identity thieves opening new accounts/service agreements with stolen information.

Below are helpful prevention methods.

Online Prevention: Only use secure bank connections to review your account or authorize transactions. Only use secure websites for making online purchases. Use strong passwords for all accounts. Set up security questions and answers for access to accounts. Never save credit/debit card information online. Home Prevention: Shred all documents that obtain your personal information before discarding. Destroy labels on prescription drugs before discarding. Be guarded when entering PIN numbers. Keep a list of credit card, account numbers, and other personal information in a secure place.