NACHA updates resources to help protect seniors from fraud
NACHA’s Payment Innovation Alliance has updated two tools it offers to help financial institutions protect seniors from financial fraud.
To help financial institutions educate the public about the prevalence of financial exploitation for the elderly, the Alliance’s Consumer Financial Exploitation Project team has developed an infographic that provides key statistics on the issue, NACHA, which dominates the ACH network, said in a press release Wednesday (June 11).
To help banks and credit unions assist clients who may be such fraud, the team created a list of financial exploitation-conscious financial institutions for an elderly person, the report said.
According to the infographic, financial exploitation of older people usually involves fraud against people aged 55 and older and is carried out through deception, intimidation, improper influence or breach of fiduciary obligations.
The report said the resources were created on June 15 by the United Nations in 2011 to mark World Abuse Advocacy Day.
Mary Gilmeister, CEO of PaymentsFirst and CEO of the Consumer Finance Utilization Project Team, said they reached the number of U.S. adults aged 65 and over.
“By providing these resources to financial institutions, we aim to enhance their ability to protect their account holders and provide critical support to those affected by fraud,” Gilmester said.
PYMNTS reported in June 2024 that financial exploitation has surged as more and more baby boomers and predecessors go online to complete banking.
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaints Center (IC3) said in April 2024 that in 2023, the number of senior fraud complaints increased by 14%, and related losses increased by 11%.
According to IC3's 2023 Elderly Fraud Report for 2023, individuals aged 60 and older reported 101,068 scams in 2023, losing $3.4 billion and losing an average of $33,915 for victims.
In December, five federal financial regulators, the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FINCEN), and state financial regulators issued a joint statement providing examples of risk management and other practices that banks, credit unions and other supervisory agencies can use to identify, prevent and respond to financial use of older people.
