View the FEPA Statistics.

What You Need To Know About the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act (FEPA)

The MBA was a member of the Attorney General Elder Abuse Task Force, Financial Exploitation subcommittee. This subcommittee worked for over 18 months to draft the FEPA which was passed in December 2020 (PA 344 of 2020) with an effective date of September 26, 2021. We will continue to update this webpage as more information is attained. We will also post these changes in the weekly MBA Bank Beat.

View more information on the Public Act website here.

View the Summary of the Act.

Read the draft policy from a community bank. 

View the Attorney General Task Force documents - Financial Institutions Best Practices Guide; Central Dispatch Non-Emergency Number by County. 

The Elder Abuse Brochure is available at no cost to bankers to place in your bank lobbies. You may email Alex Morris with your request. Please be sure to send an address, and the number of brochures requested, not a PO Box per the attorney general office's request.

For more information pertaining to the Financial Prevention Act, contact Alex Morris, AVP, Advocacy, at amorris@michigan.bank.

Financial Prevention Act - Protecting Seniors Webinar Series (click on titles below to access slides)
Contact us to purchase the recordings.

Topics include:

 Financial Exploitation Prevention Act 
Kelly Walters, Chief Risk Officer, General Counsel, First State Bank

Identifying Financial Exploitation 
Katharyn Barron, Attorney General’s Office, State of Michigan 

Practical Resources Bankers Can Access to Stem Elder Financial Exploitation
Cindy Liebes, Cybercrime Support Network; Sam Kunjukunju, Senior Director, Bank Community Engagement, American Bankers Association

Federal Elder Justice Initiative
Mitra Jafary-Hariri, Assistant United States Attorney and Elder Justice Coordinator for the Eastern District of Michigan; Special Agent Bryan Drake, FBI 

 Money $afety for Seniors
Ben Joergens | FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT DIR, VP, Old National Bank

DIFS Office of Banking Update
David Merchant, Assistant Director – Office of Banking, Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services 

State Overview/Efforts
Cynthia Farrell, program manager for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' (MDHHS) Supportive Adult Services Section and Kris Lamblin, APS Policy Specialist

 
Access the Webinar

The Department of Justice is striving to combat financial crimes against older Americans.  Learn about prevalent financial scams so you can guard against them, and get involved in making your community safer.  If you need help, there is a Elder Abuse Resource Roadmap that can guide you to the right agency for your particular situation.

View the Banker Hall of Fame

Elder Abuse Resource Roadmap: Financial 
There are many types of financial harm, and it can be difficult to know what to do when this happens to you, or someone you know. 

Answer a few questions and the Resource Roadmap will help you quickly find the right reporting agency.

                                                               Resource Roadmap

Or read the Elder Abuse Resource Roadmap: Financial document.

Brought to you by the United States Department of Justice.

ABA Foundation: Safe Banking for Seniors Program
A free banker resource with key information on ways to strengthen cooperative efforts with law enforcement, as well as Adult Protective Services (APS).
                                        Protecting Seniors: Resource Guide

Get Involved
By recognizing financial exploitation and scams, older Americans may avoid becoming victims.

Preventing Elder Financial Abuse and Exploitation with Tellers

What the Government is Doing to Fight Back Against Scammers

Get Involved, Get Safe - Stop Financial Abuse
A series of presentations with guides and brochures to be used for community or professional presentations

MoneySmart 
A financial education program

Pass it On!
Share what you know to help protect someone you know from a scam

Triads
Work with sheriffs to make your community safer

Senior Medicare Patrol
Volunteer to show Medicare and Medicaid recipients how to protect against, detect, and report fraud

Brought to you by the United States Department of Justice.

Networking Series

  • Money Smart for Older Adults | March 1, 2:00 – 3:30 ET. Learn how to use Money Smart for Older Adults instructor-led curriculum and resources. A joint program of CFPB and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Money Smart for Older Adults can be adapted in a variety of ways. Trainers for the event are Lisa Schifferle from the CFPB's Office for Older Americans and Ron Jauregui from the FDIC.  

In Case You Missed It: Recordings from All Prior Webinars in the Series are Available

  • New Resources for Elder Fraud Prevention and Response Networks. Elder financial exploitation threatens the financial security of millions of older Americans annually. Learn about newly updated CFPB resources for elder fraud prevention and response networks – including an expanded CFPB report on the network collaboration and a streamlined online Network Development Guide. View the recording!
  • Promising Practices from Successful Elder Fraud Prevention and Response Networks
    • Part 1, featuring network leaders in Michigan and South Carolina. Learn about strategies for funding elder justice networks, how networks can provide training across disciplines, and more. A special guest presentation will highlight funding available from the Department of Justice for elder justice networks. View the recording!
    • Part 2, featuring network leaders in Hawaii and Florida. Learn how state-level elder justice networks can effectively support locally based sub-networks, how networks can coordinate with the payments industry to spot and respond to exploitation, and more. View the recording!
  • Recovering from Elder Financial Exploitation | February 22, 2:00 – 3:00 ET: Recording



More Resources

  • The AARP BankSafe Initiative
    • The BankSafe Initiative helps financial institutions better meet consumers’ financial needs and safeguard their assets. The initiative focuses on four key areas:Preventing financial exploitation
      • Empowering family caregivers
      • Helping those with dementia
      • Making banking tools and environments easier to access
  • Seeing, Saying and Doing Something About Elder Fraud - By Rob Nichols, President & CEO, American Bankers Association
  • Safe Banking for Seniors- A free national program, sponsored by the ABA Foundation, that provides bankers with the tools and resources necessary to help older adults, their families and caregivers prevent elder financial abuse and exploitation.  
  • Safe Banking for Seniors Toolkit - The ABA Foundation is your partner in helping to protect our nation's consumers. New resources have been added to help bankers like you educate your communities, including tip sheets on avoiding coronavirus scams, social security scams, IRS scams and more. And while in-person presentations may be on hold, we've also included social media templates to help you digitally engage your customers. 
  • Department of Attorney General Elder Abuse Official Website 
  • CFPB Releases Guide to Building Elder Fraud Prevention Networks. Access the resources. 
  • FDIC’s Consumer News Offers Tips on Avoiding Scams - The latest issue of the FDIC’s Consumer News publication provides security tips to avoid a variety of scams. The article recommends being suspicious about unexpected requests for personal information and to only respond to messages that are from known people and organizations "and even then be cautious if they look questionable." Other tips include being wary of email or websites that have typos or obvious mistakes and to remember that no government agency will demand payment gift card, wiring money or digital currency. Read more.
  • Services for Seniors - Laws and Programs for Senior Adults
  • Michigan Elder Justice Initiative
  • Memo on Financial Institution and Law Enforcement Efforts to Combat Elder Financial Exploitation
  • Financial Institution Notification to Prosecutor 
  • Financial Institution Optional Form
  • Infographic on Safeguarding America's Seniors -  The ABA Foundation released a new infographic highlighting elder financial exploitation, the illegal or improper use of an older person's funds, property or assets. The infographic shows that one in five seniors are estimated to be a victim of financial exploitation and that elder financial exploitation has increased $800 million from 2019 to 2020, as disclosed in suspicious activity reports. Banks are responding to the issue with 86% requiring front line staff trained on detecting and reporting suspected elder fraud and 77% of banks flag accounts internally for continuous monitoring of exploitative activity, according to the 2021 ABA Foundation Older Americans Benchmarking Report. Sixty-eight percent of banks help customers close accounts and open new ones due to suspected elder fraud and 78% report elder financial exploitation to adult protective services. View the infographic.
  • Mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15 with New FREE Toolkit -  The ABA Foundation has launched a new communications toolkit to help bankers like you engage with older adults in your community. Part of the Foundation’s Safe Banking for Seniors campaign, the resource has a new look and new features including turnkey social media posts to highlight information about recognizing elder financial exploitation, identifying specific scams, and supporting financial caregiving. June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, so sign up now to participate in Safe Banking for Seniors to access the toolkit and take part in an industry-wide movement to safeguard seniors. Access the toolkit.
  • ABA Foundations Safe Banking for Seniors Resources.  
  • View the National Center on Elder Abuse PowerPoint. 
  • On the Front Lines of COVID Fraud with the Senior Medicare Patrol. Read more.
  • Resources for Personal Care Services Frauds and COVID-19 Frauds.
  • Financial Abuse - What are Signs of Financial Abuse in Nursing Homes? By nursinghomesabuse.org. Read more. 
  • Protect Yourself from Social Security Scams. Read more. 
  • FTC: Fraud Losses Among Older Adults Increased in 2022. Read more. 

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