Pub. 14 2019-2020 Issue 5

WWW.NEBANKERS.ORG 10 WASHINGTON UPDATE Seeing, Saying and Doing Something About Elder Fraud Rob Nichols, President & CEO, American Bankers Association O DDS ARE YOUR BANK HAS A STORY THAT ILLUSTRATES A DISTURBING TREND AFFECTING older Americans today. Perhaps one of your tellers noticed a regular customer suddenly showing up at the bank with a new “best friend.” Or staff detected unusual activity in an elderly customer’s account, such as large withdrawals or unpaid bills. These are two of several red flags that can signal elder financial abuse, and banks are increasingly noticing — and reporting — such cases. According to a FinCEN analysis released in December, suspicious activity reports related to elder financial exploitation have increased dramatically in recent years, jumping from2,000 filings in October 2013 to nearly 7,500 filings in August 2019. A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Report issued in February 2019 offers similar statistics and adds that 80% of SARs related to elder financial exploitation involved a monetary loss to older adults and/or the institution that filed. The average loss for customers was $34,200, while the average loss to institutions filing was $16,700. As disheartening as this sounds, there’s actually some positive news amid all the data surrounding elder financial fraud. The ABA Foundation has docu- mented that good news in its 2019 Older Americans Benchmarking Report. The biennial report shows that banks are going well beyond the “see something, say something” threat mantra and are proactively working to educate and protect their older customers. It found, for example, that the vast majority (90%) of respondent banks now require additional, specialized training for front-line staff. That’s up from 71% in 2017. It also found that more banks are reporting suspected elder abuse and fraud to Adult Protective Services, with 81% of survey respondents listing that as standard procedure, up from 62% in 2017. And more than 60% say they now have at least one employee specifi- cally designated to lead efforts on elder financial abuse and fraud prevention. Banks aren’t just focused on spot- ting and reporting fraud. They’re also increasingly preventing it by teaching seniors in their communities the art of self-defense. One banker shared how her institution created fraud packets with brief brochures and “scam cards” to educate older customers on schemes and how to report them. Another said his institution developed a brochure for caregivers to help guide conversations on sensitive topics like developing a will