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Have you heard the one about Jane? Here it is …
Jane called her financial agent to request a distribution from one of her accounts.
She excitedly explained to her agent that she recently met a romantic partner online and shared their plans for the future. Jane’s new partner, John, needed financial assistance to get to the United States to start his new life with her. Jane told her agent that she’d like to withdraw about $100,000 from her IRA brokerage account to help John and fund his relocation to the United States.
“Don’t worry,” Jane told her agent, “John assured me that he has a large amount of wealth to draw on once he arrives here and then we’re going to live a fairy-tale life together. So how quickly can I get these funds? Just have them sent right to my bank account.”
Jane’s agent sensed that something was wrong; this did not seem legitimate. The agent contacted MassMutual to raise his concerns. A member of MassMutual’s Senior and Vulnerable Adult Compliance Team called Jane directly to discuss their concerns, but Jane was skeptical. She believed everything John was telling her.
Indeed, Jane felt strongly that she needed to send him the funds, plus some gift cards, so he could come live with her.
Wait, did Jane mention gift cards too?
This is another very bright red flag of exploitation; gift cards are almost the same as cash for scammers. They are hard to trace once they’re used and a victim is generally not able to get their funds back. Everyone except Jane strongly believed this situation was a scam — the team had seen similar scams before. But how could they convince her?
Fortunately, two years earlier, Jane had named a longtime friend as her trusted contact for her brokerage account. The MassMutual team member contacted Jane’s friend, who understood immediately that Jane was being scammed. The friend contacted Jane right away. Jane’s trusted contact discussed the situation with her. Although we don’t know the specifics of their conversation, Jane was able to finally accept the fact that she was the victim of a romance scam.
As difficult as it was, and despite being heartbroken, Jane was incredibly grateful she had people she could trust to look out for her best interests when she was emotionally vulnerable and in a potentially dangerous situation.
Not really fiction
Jane’s tale is based on actual cases MassMutual sees and addresses regularly.
In fact, the number of elderly victims has risen at an alarming rate, according to the FBI’s latest elder fraud report. In 2023 alone, more than 100,000 victims over the age of 60 reported losses of $3.4 billion, representing an 11 percent increase in losses over 2022.
That trend shows how our senior and vulnerable adult populations are those most susceptible to becoming targets. And we often don’t realize how easy it is for those we care about and — even ourselves — to be victimized by those seeking to financially exploit our very human vulnerabilities.
These forms of exploitation can range from someone taking advantage of a senior or vulnerable adult they personally know to a less suspicious person getting caught up in a random scam.
And there are many different types of scams, from romance scams like the one experienced by Jane, to lottery scams, IRS/government scams, and even grandparent scams. The range of these scams continues to grow, and it is important to be more vigilant than ever.
That’s where trusted contacts can help.
The need for trusted contacts
As background, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) enacted a regulation that asks each person opening a securities account to name a “trusted contact” on their behalf.
What does that mean and what authority does that person have on the customer’s account?
FINRA describes it like this: “A trusted contact is an individual authorized by an investor to be contacted by their financial firm in limited circumstances, such as concerns about activity in the investor’s account or if the firm has been unable to reach the investor after numerous attempts.”
Simply put, it’s an emergency contact for your account.
It's important to note that naming a trusted contact is NOT a power of attorney, nor does it authorize the trusted contact to obtain information or access to your account.
Naming a trusted contact allows a financial firm to reach out for assistance when exploitation is suspected. The trusted contact is an ally of a financial services company and the customer — it adds an additional layer of protection when needed.
No one goes into a situation, especially an ostensibly romantic one, thinking “I’m going to get exploited.” But scammers know what to do and what to say to bring a person’s guard down and gain trust.
In addition to naming a trusted contact, use resources that are available, such as your financial professional, trusted family or friends, or legitimate websites, to confirm if requests or even contacts and emails are legitimate.
Conclusion
All of us are at risk of someone attempting to exploit our vulnerabilities; but with a little vigilance, and a little help from our friends, we can be better prepared and better able to deal with instances when we, like Jane, fall victim to a scam.
Working to protect our senior and vulnerable adult customers and clients is another way that MassMutual lives mutual.
Discover more from MassMutual …
Seniors and mental fitness: What’s normal, what’s alarming
Senior scams to watch in the holiday season
Talking money with your aging parent
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