Agencies issue statement on elder financial exploitation
EST
Five federal financial regulatory agencies, the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and state financial regulators
issued a statement today to provide supervised institutions with
examples of risk management and other practices that may be effective
in combatting elder financial exploitation.
Older adults
who experience financial exploitation can lose their life savings and
financial security and face other harm. A FinCEN financial trend
analysis of Bank Secrecy Act reports over a one-year period ending in
June 2023 found that about $27 billion in reported suspicious activity
was linked to elder financial exploitation.
Banks, credit
unions, and other supervised institutions play an important role in
combatting elder financial exploitation and supporting their customers
who experience these crimes. The statement provides examples of risk
management and other practices that supervised institutions may use to
help identify, prevent, and respond to elder financial exploitation,
including but not limited to: Developing effective governance and
oversight, including policies and practices to protect account holders
and the institution Training employees on recognizing and responding
to elder financial exploitation Using transaction holds and
disbursement delays, as appropriate, and consistent with applicable
law Establishing a trusted contact designation process for account
holders Filing suspicious activity reports to FinCEN in a timely
manner Reporting suspected elder financial exploitation to law
enforcement, Adult Protective Services, and other appropriate entities
Providing financial records to appropriate authorities where
consistent with applicable law Engaging with elder fraud prevention
and response networks Increasing awareness through consumer outreach
Last Update: December 04, 2024