Janine Williamson
Elder Fraud Prevention Advocate and Administrator, Larry W. Cook Estate. Written for CQ Researcher, April 2025
Banking today is sound but not safe. Cybercrime and elder financial exploitation have reached epidemic proportions. Innocent people, particularly the elderly, are losing their life savings. Banks must do more to defend their customers from this new generation of thieves.
Most of us have received suspicious texts, emails or phone calls attempting to lure us into a financial scam. Criminals especially target seniors, who aren’t as familiar with the latest fraud tactics and are more trusting of institutions that supposedly protect them. The FBI reports that annual losses due to elder fraud surged 84 percent between 2021 and 2022, reaching $3.1 billion. The true figure is likely much higher. A report from the National Adult Protective Services Association estimates that only one in 44 cases of elder financial abuse is ever reported.
My family knows this reality all too well. My late uncle, Larry, a retired navy nuclear submarine commander, lost more than $3.6 million to scammers in the final months of his life. His financial institution was notified that he was the suspected victim of fraud and in need of Adult Protective Services. Yet they continued processing 74 wire transfers to an overseas scam operation. His case is tragically common.
Banks claim they train employees to detect fraud, yet fraud continues to flourish. Clearly, banks need a new approach. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requires brokerage firms to ask customers to identify a “trusted contact” for suspicious transactions. Banks and credit unions should be held to the same standard. Banks have sophisticated fraud detection algorithms for credit card transactions. Why aren’t similar safeguards in place for checking and savings accounts?
Reporting suspected fraud should be a federal requirement for all financial institutions. Right now, they’re subject to a patchwork of inconsistent state laws. The House and Senate have considered legislation to expand the definition of unauthorized transfers and implement shared liability between banks that initiate and receive fraudulent transfers.
We need stronger legislation to hold banks accountable for reimbursing their customers in cases of fraud. Furthermore, federal agencies working with the telecom industry, social media companies and internet access providers could restrict scam operators’ ability to communicate with victims.
Congress must act to ensure the financial institutions take responsibility for protecting their customers — before more families, like mine, suffer devastating losses.
To learn more, check out the full CQ Researcher report on financial scams here.