Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project to reduce financial exploitation of elderly

By Owen Boss

BOSTON — To commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs introduced an enhanced program aimed at helping train bank personnel to recognize and prevent financial exploitation of the elderly, and so far 137 banks across the state have signed up for the Massachusetts Bank Reporting Project. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs has reported a rise in the number of cases their office handles where financial exploitation of the elderly is listed as the primary allegation. In the fiscal 1997, 14 percent of these reported cases were financial, in fiscal 2007, 25 percent of confirmed cases included a financial exploitation component. One local organization that is getting involved in the project is the Montachusett Home Care Corp., which has begun preparing its employees for an increase in reported cases. Carol Dubour, the assistant director at Montachusett Home Care said that their employees are excited to help, and that they are encouraged with the effort the Mass Bankers Association is putting forth. “We are the social service agency that is set to receive the reports,” said Ms. Dubour. “We appreciate the effort of the Massachusetts Bank Association because they are in a unique position to identify these cases of exploitation. Through their vigilance people will become safer.” According to a press release, Attorney General Martha Coakley said that it would be through projects such as this that the state could prevent seniors from being taken advantage of during the current economic slowdown. “Prevention and education efforts are vital to protecting our seniors from scams and preventing fraud. Bank tellers and bank managers are on the front lines and are in a unique position to identify and report potential fraudulent activity,” said Ms. Coakley. “Because the nature of these scams, and particularly in this tough economic climate, collaborative prevention efforts such as the Bank Reporting Project and training are especially important.” Kevin Kiley, executive vice president of the Mass Bankers Association and director of the project, said that while the project is meant to prevent the elderly from being scammed, it is also important to preserve their freedom to make their own decisions. “We want to protect elders while at the same time doing our very best to respect their privacy,” said Mr. Kiley. “We can accomplish this not only by thorough training, but by working very closely with protective service agencies across the state to whom we make referrals. The agencies step in, contact the elderly customer, and just make sure that everything is all right. If it isn’t, they know what to do to help the elderly victim sort it out or, if need be, report it to law enforcement.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 4 on 6/18/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 144)