Grundy Bank joins ‘Safe Banking for Seniors’ campaign

Grundy Bank is joining the national effort to protect seniors from becoming victims of fraud and financial abuse.

May is Older Americans Month followed by May 15 being Senior Fraud Awareness Day. Each year, older customers lose approximately $2.9 billion to fraud but it is expected that this number is underestimated, as only one of every 44 seniors report financial abuse.

Safe Banking for Seniors is a new financial education program established by the American Bankers Association Foundation to help combat this growing problem.

“Scammers are always developing new ways to rip people off and sadly, they often target our seniors for numerous reasons,” said Christine Mendez, Marketing and Sales Director of Grundy Bank.

Knowing the warning signs of scams can help stop fraud in its tracks. Paying fees or taxes for sweepstakes or lottery ‘winnings’, acting immediately on an offer or insisting secrecy are characteristics of some types of fraud. When in doubt, talk to a trusted advisor, family member or friend.

Some scammers are more interested in stealing financial identities to open new credit cards or loans in seniors’ names, Shred receipts, bank statements and unused credit card offers before throwing them away. Never give personal information, including social security numbers, account numbers or other financial information to anyone over the phone unless the other party is trusted.

For more consumer tips, see the Consumer Resources section at aba.com/seniors.