Promotes Efforts to Combat Financial Frauds and Scams Targeting Older Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (June 15, 2023) – In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) reminds financial professionals and the public to be on the lookout for signs of elder financial abuse, including potential exploitation and scams. To help protect senior investors, NASAA and its members recommend investors provide the name of someone they trust as a contact on their investment accounts.
A trusted contact is a person authorized by the investor to allow financial firms, in limited circumstances, to contact them when there are concerns about activity in an account. A trusted contact may be a family member, attorney, accountant or another third-party that respects the investor’s privacy and understands how to handle the responsibility.
“It is a sad truth that there are folks looking to prey on unsuspecting investors and all too often they target older individuals. One way to help detect and even prevent financial exploitation is to add a trusted contact to investment accounts. Having a trusted contact provides another layer of safety for investment accounts,” said Andrew Hartnett, NASAA President and Iowa’s Deputy Insurance Commissioner. “NASAA’s members are actively working to combat cases of abuse and exploitation by providing tools and resources for investors and caregivers.”
NASAA has developed resources on what is a trusted contact, why they are important and how they help investors to protect themselves. You can find NASAA’s trusted contact videos on its YouTube page. There are also factsheets and links to other helpful information on trusted contacts on NASAA’s Investor Education page.
– NASAA–
About NASAA:
Organized in 1919, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. NASAA is a voluntary association whose membership consists of the securities regulators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators in Canada, and the securities regulator in México. For more information, visit www.nasaa.org.
For More Information:
Fred Baldassaro, Director of Communications
fbaldassaro@nasaa.org | 202-737-0900
Karen Grajales, Communications and Investor Outreach Manager
kgrajales@nasaa.org | 202-737-0900
