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| DOJ focuses on Elder Financial Exploitation Solutions |
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Credit unions took part in the first of two joint listening sessions with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to address elder financial exploitation. America’s Credit Unions convened and hosted the session with participation from the DOJ as part of its Elder Justice Initiative.
Sharing what they are experiencing on the front lines in their credit unions, participants highlighted their efforts in protecting members from scams and the government policies that could help them.
The session this week addressed fraud trends, internal credit union response, authority to hold or decline transactions, reporting and coordination with agencies, balancing member protection with member autonomy, and training and policy improvements.
Credit union participants shared:
• Impersonation scams cause the largest losses, with scammers persuading victims to withdraw cash and coaching them how to answer financial institution questions. Credit unions also noted that specific follow-up questions from staff often expose the scam;
• Family members commit much of the exploitation. Participants also reported mule accounts, account takeovers despite multi-factor authentication, and targeting recently widowed members;
• Adult protective services and law enforcement often do not open cases or respond, and victims often refuse to report family members;
• Holds have limited effect when a member refuses to accept that a scam is occurring or when an agency has not acted, and holds often come too late for digital banking scams;
• Regular meetings between law enforcement and financial institutions have worked, and several shared successful examples in their states and communities;
• Participants proposed merchant training, sharing an example of a retail cashier stopping a member from buying gift cards for a scammer.
America’s Credit Unions will continue to advocate for policies to better equip credit unions to protect members and fight fraud.
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