Preventing Elder Financial Abuse
The following tips may be useful to your customers in helping them be more aware of and preventing elder financial abuse:
· Use direct deposit for all checks.
· Do not leave valuables in plain view.
· Sign your own checks and do not sign "blank checks," even for family members.
· If someone is helping you to manage your finances, get a trusted third person to review your bank statement.
· Don't sign anything without reading it carefully.
· Do not lend any money in return for a general promissory note.
· Do not sign over money or property to anyone in return for care, even a family member or friend, without having the agreement reviewed by an attorney.
· Establish a relationship with the personnel at your bank.
· Cultivate friends of all ages so you maintain a strong support network.
· Become familiar with resources in your community designed to help older people and their families.
· Execute a Power of Attorney that will grant financial decision-making power to a trusted friend, relative or attorney. Make sure you know and trust this person. A Power of Attorney can be as limited or as broadly defined as you wish and can be revoked at any time. Give your bank a copy of this.
· Put all financial instructions in writing and be specific.
· Keep accurate and complete financial records of all transactions.
· Gather all important documents together (wills, insurance policies and bank account information) and tell someone you trust where these documents are kept.
· Never give out credit card numbers over the phone unless you placed the call.
· Never give out your Social Security number or bank account number over the phone.
· Don't make donations to charities you don't know.
· Get several estimates before you have any work done to your home.
· Do not pay for any work in advance of its completion and remember that all contractors must be licensed by law.
· Do not pay cash to persons you hire.
· If something seems "too good to be true" (such as being told that you won a prize for a drawing you did not enter, or that someone can get you a 100% return on your investment), it is probably a scam.
SOURCE: calbankers
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