Seniors’ financial literacy is more important now than ever before as scams against older Americans become ever more sophisticated, experts testified Wednesday at a hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
“In 2024, fraud and scam cost older Americans nearly $5 billion. These criminals are not amateurs,” Committee Chairman Sen.Rick Scott (R-FL) said. “They use tools like artificial intelligence, voice cloning, government impersonation and more to attack us all.”
Scott announced the upcoming release of “Guarding Your Nest Egg, A Financial Resource Guide for Older Adults” on the committee’s website.
“This package will cover the decisions that matter most in retirement,Social Security, Medicare, housing, charitable giving, disaster preparedness, and planning for the unexpected. It will also provide clear guidelines as to what a scam looks like and how to guard yourself against them, plain language tools you can actually use,” Scott said.
Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience programming at AARP, testified that “financial literacy is foundational to economic security. It can help Americans save to afford housing and healthcare, avoid debt and fraud, make informed retirement decisions and remain independent as they age.”
Financial literacy programs are a critical defense against fraud for people of any age, she said, noting that “older adults are disproportionately targeted by increasingly sophisticated scams that exploit technology, urgency and trust.”
“One -size -fits-all approaches are not effective. People vary widely in their comfort with technology, learning styles, and access to information,” Roszkowski said. “Programs are most effective when they use trusted messengers, plain language, and real-world examples.”
Banks play a critical role in protecting older Americans from fraud and financial exploitation, according to Sam Kunjukunju, vice president for consumer engagement at the American Banking Association Foundation.
Kunjukunju testified that the ABA Foundation works with banks on a four-pronged strategy to help protect older adults:
- Educating consumers.
- Training bankers.
- Cultivating partnerships with law enforcement and Adult Protective Services.
- Leveraging technology.
“Through the ABA Foundation’s Safe Banking for Seniors program and other initiatives, bankers across the country deliver community based education on identifying scams, preventing identity theft, strengthening financial caregiving and managing money safely. Over the past three years, these efforts have enabled more than 1,300 banks and 110,000 bank volunteers to reach millions of people nationwide with financial literacy and fraud prevention resources,” Kunjukunju said.
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