State program uses bank tellers to target financial abuse of Maine seniors
File photo / Tim Greenway
Christopher Pinkham, president of Maine Bankers Association, says banks are in a unique position to identify cases of financial fraud.
A state-sponsored program to combat financial abuse of seniors in Maine by training bank and credit union tellers has led to the reporting of 30 suspected cases so far.
The program, called Senior$afe, was launched in early 2014 by the state, trade associations and agencies involved in senior issues. Since its launch, the program has trained more than 300 tellers to identify and report suspected financial abuse of seniors, according to the Portland Press Herald.
More than 32,000 seniors in Maine age 60 and older are victims of fraud annually, according to the Press Herald.
“We are in a unique position to be the identifiers,” Christopher Pinkham, president of the Maine Bankers Association, told Mainebiz in an interview this fall. “The teller is in the position to say something is wrong. So the question is what do we do?”
Bank or credit union employees suspecting cases of fraud can now contact a special hotline to report the incidents.
The Maine Bankers Association, along with the Maine Credit Union League, joined the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Aging and Disability Services; the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation; the state’s Legal Services for the Elderly; and all five Area Agencies on Aging in launching the program.
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