Resources

RESOURCES

Breaking Bulletins

• Senior-focused Newsroom

Map (Elder Justice)

• Elder Justice Network Locator Map

Education

• Money Smart for Older Adults
• Choosing a trusted contact person can help you protect your money
• Planning for diminished capacity and illness
• Know your financial adviser
• Reporting of suspected elder financial exploitation by financial institutions
• Reverse mortgage resources
• Foundation Fraud-related Research: Understanding and Combating Financial Fraud
• Trusted Contact Educational Material: Establishing a Trusted Contact

Fraud Prevention

• AARP Fraud Watch Helpline: 877-908-3360 (open to everyone and free)
• AARP Fraud Watch Network

Guardianship

Issue briefs and fact sheets on guardianship, less restrictive options, and guardianship abuse:

• Adult Guardianship and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned
• Guardianship: Remedy vs. Enabler of Elder Abuse
• Ten Ways That a Model State Law Could Help to Reduce Guardianship Abuse
• What if Your Guardian is Not Doing What They Should?

Guidance

• NASAA Guide for Developing Practices and Procedures for Protecting Senior Investors and Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation
• Preventing elder financial abuse: Guide for nursing homes and assisted living communities
• Preventing elder financial abuse: Guide for family and friends of people living in long-term care
• Managing Someone Else’s Money
• What to do if you are wrongfully billed for Medicare costs
• Elder Fraud Prevention and Response Network Development Guide
• Issue spotlight: Nursing home debt collection
• Foundation Aging & Cognition Research: Aging and Financial Decision Making
• APS would not take my report. Why? (Factsheet)
• National Guidelines for Financial Institutions: Working Together to Protect Older Persons from Financial Abuse
• NAPSA’s Introduction to APS: A Guide for Community Partners
• Senior Financial Exploitation Task Force Brochure
• Thinking Ahead Roadmap – A guide for keeping your money safe as you age. Coming soon are a facilitator’s guide and associated materials for presentations and trainings on this guide.

Networks

• Convening communities to build elder protection and response networks
• Report and recommendations: Fighting elder financial exploitation through community networks

POA

• NASAA Recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and Offers New Power of Attorney Resources (news release)
• Powers of Attorney: Basics That All Investors Should Know and Consider (publication)
• Powers of Attorney: Why Discussing a Power of Attorney Can Be Important to the Financial Professional and Client Relationship (publication)

Podcasts & Webcasts

• Seniors-focused Podcasts and Webcasts from NASAA

Privacy Issues

• Interagency Guidance on Privacy Laws and Reporting Financial Abuse of Older Adults

Ready-to-use Flyers

• Trusted Contact

Reports

• Section of FINRA’s 2022 Examinations & Risk Monitoring Report re: Trusted Contact (which highlights FINRA Rule 3241): Trusted Contact Persons
• Adult Maltreatment Report 2021
• The Business Case for Financial Institutions – A short research report that quantifies the impact financial exploitation has on the industry and how working to address it improves relationships with clients

Research

• New Investors 2022: Entering the Market in Novel and Traditional Ways
• Where Are They Now? Following Up With the New Investors of 2020 Where Are They Now? Following Up With the New Investors of 2020
• Investing 2020: New Accounts and the People Who Opened Them
• Addressing the Challenge of Chronic Fraud Victimization – paper by AARP, FINRA Foundation, and Heart+Mind Strategies
• Training Impact Snapshot – The executive summary from Virginia Tech’s research that measured how well AARP’s training helped frontline employees spot and stop financial exploitation
• Recovering from elder financial exploitation: A framework for policy and research
• Advisory, recommendations, and report for financial institutions on preventing and responding to elder financial exploitation
• Suspicious Activity Reports on elder financial exploitation: 2021 Data Spotlight
• Suspicious Activity Reports on elder financial exploitation: Issues and trends
• Memorandum on financial institution and law enforcement efforts to combat elder financial exploitation

Research / Education

• Blame and Shame in the Context of Financial Fraud – another FINRA/AARP/Heart+Mind Strategies collaboration on changing the narrative on blaming fraud victims

Resources

• U.S. Department of Justice elder justice resources (PDF)
• Working with Older Adults
• Preventing financial exploitation, fraud, and scams:Losing money or possessions to scams, fraud, and exploitation can be especially devastating to older adults, who may be not be able to earn back what they’ve lost. Find resources to help you prevent fraud.
• Help for surviving spouses
• Tools for Financial Security:Use these resources to help older adults and their caregivers navigate some of the important decisions that can affect later-life financial security.
• AARP BankSafe Overview
• Planning for Diminished Capacity and Illness
• Choosing a Trusted Contact Person Can Help You Protect Your Money
• Tips for Conversations with Senior or Vulnerable Clients
• Deciphering Dementia in the Financial Service Industry
• How You Can Help Fight Financial Exploitation
• Elder Abuse and Neglect
• Lichtenberg 10 Point Decision Making Tool (Simplified)
• Protect older adults from financial exploitation – Older Adult Nest Egg

Victim Support

• AARP Victim Support Program
• Elder Justice Initiative (EJI) | Department of Justice

CANADA

INDUSTRY GROUPS AND SELF-REGULATORY ORGANIZATIONS

INVESTOR RESOURCES

You have worked hard throughout your lifetime to build retirement security. As your first line of defense against investment fraud, NASAA members know scam artists may try to prey on older individuals by offering “too good to be true” investment schemes. Education and awareness are your best weapons in the fight against investment fraud. This section of Serve Our Seniors provides tools specifically for senior investors to help safeguard retirement savings.