EverSafe Newsletter
SENIOR FINANCIAL PROTECTION NEWS
Providing thought-provoking articles, commentary and general information on issues related to aging and financial health.
Maryland Launches “PROTECT” Week
CAMPAIGN PARTNERS INCLUDE EVERSAFE
The state of Maryland launched its first ever “PROTECT Week” this month to help educate residents about elder financial abuse and how to take steps to protect seniors and families against fraud and scams. Five 
years ago, Maryland passed a law requiring financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation of adults who are 65 years of age and older. The launch of PROTECT week demonstrates the state’s commitment to ending elder financial abuse. The week kicked off with talks from Maryland’s Attorney General Brian Frosh, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, and EverSafe’s Liz Loewy. Other events during January 8-12 included a Tele-town Hall with Guidewell Financial hosted by AARP Maryland, a policy presentation at Holiday Park Senior Center about fraud prevention, and a gathering at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home to share tax assistance information and resources on financial well-being. Free and low-cost resources for those interested are available at: www.PROTECTweek.com.
New Fraud Prevention Tool for Law Firms
EVERSAFE AND ELDERCOUNSEL COLLABORATE TO SERVE OLDER CLIENTS
ElderCounsel provides over 1,000 law firms across the United States with online tools, educational programs, and practice-building skills needed to grow their elder law practice. Their services include document-drafting 
software, an educational platform with online and live events, marketing services, and peer network support involving a vast number of attorneys. EverSafe is proud to announce their partnership with ElderCounsel, which will provide firms with a comprehensive fraud and identity theft prevention tool that can be offered to clients at a discounted rate.
2018 Financial Health Resolutions
TIPS FROM THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY REGULATORY AUTHORITY
The beginning of a new year is a good time to take a closer look at what’s not working when it comes to your finances. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) provides the following guide to improve your financial health this year:
- Take the time to create a household budget and track it closely;
- Set both short-term and long-term goals for your savings plan;
- Check your credit report. You can check once every 12 months at each of the three credit bureaus – Equifax, TransUnion and Experian and at Annual Credit Report.com which is run by the three bureaus;
- If you have an investment portfolio, consider rebalancing based on performance and;
- Create a process for organizing important financial documents and shredding those you no longer need to remove “financial clutter.”
EverSafe is the perfect tool to help you keep your financial resolutions for 2018. It enables users to organize their finances, and monitor family members’ financial accounts, credit cards, and credit reports daily for irregular activity suggestive of fraud or issues related to financial capacity.
SCAM ALERTS
IRS WARNS OF FRAUD DURING TAX SEASON
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has outlined several scams that are prevalent during tax season. Schemes involving fraudsters who make telephone calls and claim to be IRS agents are most common. They may purport to correct an IRS error, collect an overdue tax payment, or suggest that a larger refund is on its way if personal information is “confirmed.” This type of call should be ignored as the IRS will use the mail if a taxpayer owes a payment. Email communications including the phrase “you must update your IRS e-file immediately” should also be disregarded. Fraud involving the IRS should be reported by emailing: phishing@irs.gov. Many IRS scams can be avoided by filing tax returns as early as possible to foil the exploiters who are attempting to receive phony refunds with stolen personal information. And individuals who are victims of identity theft should contact the IRS to inform them about the fraud and receive an identity protection pin number to use when they file.
RAISE Family Caregivers Act
LEGISLATION PASSES THE SENATE
On January 8th, the United States Senate passed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act (S.1028/H.R.3759). This bill, which was signed into law on January 23rd, provides essential support services to family caregivers who help older adults and people living with disabilities to continue living independently in the community. The legislation requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to put in place a strategy for supporting family caregivers in financial security and workplace issues. Learn more about how this will impact you from this Next Avenue blog.
Benefits for Credit Union Members
NJ CREDIT UNION LEAGUE OFFERS EVERSAFE TO ITS MEMBERS
This month, EverSafe and the NJCUL Services Corporation announced a partnership to help credit union members in New Jersey protect their customers’ finances and credit from exploitation—and minimize their vulnerability from data breaches. The NJCUL aggregates and distributes selected premier products and services that empower their credit union members. The collaboration with EverSafe offers monitoring that gives members access to enhanced protection, including personalized financial and identity theft monitoring, daily scans of the Dark Web, alerts that can be directed to designated trusted advocates, a consolidated family dashboard, and fraud resolution/identity restoration.
Are you a Broker-Dealer or a registered representative of a broker/dealer firm? Then you’re probably aware that FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) amended Rule 4512 and implemented FINRA Rule 2165, effective February 5, 2018. This means that broker dealers, upon the opening of an account, will be required to take steps to obtain the name of a “Trusted Contact,” who may be contacted regarding issues related to those accounts.EverSafe’s exclusive Trusted Advocate feature makes it easy. We’ll take care of obtaining Trusted Contacts’ name(s) and contact information for you, ensuring they are notified. We can add fraud monitoring, with alerts to “Trusted Contacts,” if requested.
if you are interested or have questions.
