Welcome to EverSafe’s first newsletter!

Retirement Protection

AVOID SCAMS—MONITOR ACCOUNTS

“Technology will see things that  you don’t see as an individual.”

– Howard Tischler,  EverSafe Founder

It’s no secret that scammers today are doing everything in their power to take advantage of seniors with ever—changing and sophisticated schemes that compromise their life savings. New scams target brokers, use misleading letters referencing Social Security and involve phone calls that threaten litigation.

These fraudsters will not rest until they succeed. Recent articles in Investment News and Nasdaq, make clear that the best way to protect assets from these types of assaults is with a monitoring system, like EverSafe, that can alert customers to potential threats.

News for Broker-Dealers

SEC APPROVES PROTECTION FOR SENIOR INVESTORS

The SEC recently approved a FINRA rule, effective February 5, 2018, that, in substance, will require broker-dealers to make reasonable efforts to obtain the name of a “Trusted Contact Person” who may be contacted about a customer’s account.

The new rule also clarifies that FINRA broker-dealers may place a temporary hold on transactions involving the disbursement of funds or securities from accounts of adults who are 65 and older, or adults who are 18 and older when the broker-dealer reasonably believes that he or she has a mental or physical impairment rendering them unable to protect his or her own interests and the broker-dealer believes that financial exploitation of that adult is occurring, has been attempted or will be attempted as long as certain conditions are met.

Read more about the new rules here:

2165. Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults

4512. Customer Account Information

Advisors, need assistance in figuring out how to implement the “Trusted Contact” rule? EverSafe can help!

Our exclusive Trusted Advocate feature makes it easy. We’ll take care of obtaining “Trusted Contacts'” name(s) and contact information for you, ensuring that they are notified. We can add fraud monitoring, with alerts to “Trusted Contacts,” if requested.

Please email TrustedContact@EverSafe.com if you’re interested or have questions.

Data Breaches

LOSS OF PROTECTED INFORMATION

An important part of being an informed consumer, especially when financial exploitation is rampant, is to seek out information about large scale confidential information breaches at institutions.

Some of the latest stories include:

—1.4 M Affected in Data Breach at Illinois Employment Department

—Protect Yourself from a Hospital Data Breach

—Study: Risk of Data Breaches at Hospitals is Greater at Larger Facilities

Are you a Mandated Reporter for Elder Abuse?

2017 STATE ELDER ABUSE MANDATED REPORTING CHART

All 50 states have statutes addressing whether adults are mandated to report cases of suspected elder abuse. In some states, the reporting requirements are widespread. In others, only a limited group of individuals are mandated reporters. 29 states now require financial services professionals to report elder fraud. Need to know more?

Contact us at info@eversafe.com if you would like to receive the 2017 State by State Elder Abuse Mandated Reporting Chart.

Caregivers & Financial Abuse

ADVISING CAREGIVERS & FAMIILIES

According to a recent study, caregivers who provide assistance to a senior who experiences financial abuse report $36,000 in average losses as a result of the victimization. There are several key steps that caregivers can take to protect themselves and those they love from abuse and exploitation, which include becoming an educated consumer and using technology to monitor checking, savings, investment and retirement accounts.

Advocacy

CRIME LEGISTLATION INTRODUCED

The 2010 Elder Justice Act made progress in educating the public and professionals working with the seniors about the warning signs of financial abuse and other crimes. An important advance in recent weeks has been legislation introduced by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Senior$afe Act of 2017, to improve the reporting of fraud and education of seniors to recognize signs of exploitation. Senator Collins, who leads the Senate Special Committee on Aging, shared that fraud costs seniors approximately $2.9 billion annually.