Tell us
what you think
Our Sponsors
 |
Our Sponsors
|
Our Greatest Commodity-Caring
We have included in this issue the second part of the 'Crime & Our Older Customers' training pages. It covers a problem that has become more important to us with every passing year.
Our customer base is getting older. And as the average age increases, so do the crimes committed against this segment of society.
Of all the industries and services in the United States, the one encouraging the most "caring" of its clientele is the banking industry. I never had a call in the security office from a branch office about "…one of the bank's depositors". Instead, I had calls about "…my depositor." There is a respect, a regard-a caring-by bankers about the people who come into our offices seldom, if ever, found in any other business.
Which is why, when we can prevent it, we cannot sit by and watch our account-holders-now-friends be victimized by the scum part of society that would steal their money. Seniors are concerned about how far their social security is going to go, and when they see the opportunity to make some easy dollars, they will sometimes act foolishly and risk some of their money, thinking to gain a lot. Con artists and criminals count on that.
One bank office in New England asked me to FAX the articles to them quickly about the Nigerian Oil scam-they had an older depositor who had called them and said he was coming down to get some investing advice from them, because he was expecting "…millions of dollars to be deposited into my account any day now from out of the country." After they talked to him, they were in time to stop payment on the second check he had sent-but too late for the first one.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has classified those who are victims of fraud through a study they did. They say 37% of fraud victims are sociable people, who do volunteer work, are younger and relatively affluent. 30% of victims are the "You Can't Fool Me" group. They are more isolated, claim they don't read junk mail, and claim to be wary of telemarketers. But they get taken, nonetheless.
Then there's the 14% called the "Polite and Vulnerable." They have experienced a recent tragedy in their lives, and most believe it's rude to hang up on telemarketers. 11% are the "Like To Buy" people who read junk mail, frequently send money for prizes, and find it very difficult to detect fraudulent activity. They were the oldest and least likely to be married of all the groups.
The group victimized the most are what AARP calls the "Naive" group. This 8% do not recognize their own victimization, and few think that telemarketers take advantage of people.
AARP alerts those of us with older relatives to watch for the signs of victimization: stacks of sweepstakes mail; an unusual number of packages containing costume jewelry, plastic cameras, wristwatches; numerous telephone calls about which the older person is secretive; receipts from courier services; lists by the phone of control numbers, 900 numbers, or lists of prizes.
As bankers, we have our own danger alerts; large cash withdrawals; 40 or 50 checks in a statement where there used to be 10; talk about "soon having money to invest"; large cash or check deposits where there were no deposits but pension and social security in the past; a change in the attitude or lack of friendliness; or confusion about the account.
Whether in the banking office or in our own families, we need to be more aware of the billions of dollars being stolen every year from our seniors-and put a stop to it. We hope we've helped with these special training pages.
Copyright © 1998 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 8, No. 8, 7/98
Rate This Article
Current Rating For the Feature:
| Our Greatest Commodity-Caring |
| Total Ratings for this Feature: 0 |
|