ABA Banking Journal - May/June 2015 - (Page 65)
> INNOVATIONS IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Fraud Busters
Protecting the Elderly
First Financial Bank earns trust from customers and
law enforcement in preventing financial abuse and
exploitation of older Americans.
BY COREY CARLISLE
WITH MORE THAN two-thirds of
all bank deposits held by older
Americans and trillions of dollars to be
inherited or transferred by aging adults
from their grandparents, parents and
others, financial abuse of the elderly is
on the rise. In response, First Financial
Bankshares in Abilene, Tex., launched
a Financial Exploitation Program
called "Fraud Busters," a unique
partnership between themselves, the
Abilene Police Department and Adult
Protective Services (APS).
First Financial chairman Scott
Dueser says he would describe the
problem as "an epidemic that every
bank should be paying attention
to and taking action to protect
their customers." According to a
MetLife study, financial abuse and
exploitation of the elderly results in
losses of around $2.9 billion annually.
Almost everyone agrees that number
is likely much higher as victims
are often unlikely to report these
crimes because they are frequently
perpetrated by someone they know
and trust.
Damages are only likely to increase, as
the aging demographic of the United
States is increasing rapidly. Baby
boomers-those born between 1946
and 1964-are creating a dramatic
shift in the age composition of the
U.S. population. Projections suggest
that 71.4 million people will be age 65
or older in 2029. This figure is close to
20 percent of the U.S. population by
2029, up from 14 percent in 2012.
Fraud is often perpetrated on the
elderly through a middle-man who
develops an online relationship with
someone (via a dating or gaming
website), that will, over time, lead to
an "ask" for a financial favor. Dueser
described one situation where an
elderly customer came into his bank to
see if the funds she had deposited the
day before had cleared. She deposited
a check for $1,500 that she received
in the mail. She intended to mail the
sender a check for $1,400.
Upon hearing the story, bank staff
advised the customer she was a
victim of a scam. They placed a
hold on the funds and alerted the
woman not to mail the check. They
called the person whose account the
check was drawn on and discovered
she was also elderly. The paying
bank was notified and placed a stop
payment of the check to protect their
customer's account.
"The situation in Abilene is no
different than what the industry is
seeing nationwide," Dueser explained,
"which is why we wanted to design a
program that detects fraud before the
money goes in the wrong hands."
More dire situations come when
the elderly are abused by a family
member or a caregiver. While visiting
with a First Financial personal banker,
an elderly customer said that family
members were stealing his money and
leaving him alone with no way to call
for help. The banker, recognizing this
as a red flag of elder abuse, consulted
with bank colleagues and called APS.
The agency assessed him to be ill
and in a deplorable living situation.
APS was able to contact his daughter
who lives out of state, and she
immediately came to help. Since then,
the customer has moved to a nursing
home where he is getting proper care,
his accounts have been changed to
protect his finances and he is very
thankful that someone cared enough
to get him the help he needed.
First Financial is winning the
admiration of many, as noted by
the press in Texas and nationally.
Business and community leaders are
taking their deposits to First Financial
Bank. "Our program is just getting
better and better. A number of banks
ask for our toolbox to start their own
program, and, after a recent speech
at a Rotary Club event, I had a guy tell
me he opened a $3 million account
because he was so impressed with
our commitment to fight fraud." Doing
well by doing good, indeed.
COREY CARLISLE is SVP
of Bank Community
Engagement at ABA.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - May/June 2015
CHAIRMAN’S VIEW
UPFRONT
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
LEGAL BRIEFS
PICTURE THIS
CELEBRATING A TRADITION OF INNOVATION
SOUND RISK CULTURE
AN INTERVIEW WITH FDIC’s MARTIN GRUENBERG
NEW RESPA/TILA MORTGAGE DISCLOSURES
BANK DOMAIN ROLLOUT
INVESTOR PERSPECTIVE
MARKETING/RETAIL
PAYMENTS
ADVOCACY
ABA COMPLIANCE CENTER INBOX
CYBERSECURITY
MORTGAGES
OPERATIONS
BOARD MATTERS
FROM THE STATES
BANKER RECOMMENDED READING
INNOVATIONS IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
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