Primetime Living 11.26.25 - Flipbook - Page 17
A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, November 26, 2025 17
Scams and Fraud
It seems every financial institution
sends out information on a regular basis
on the latest con perpetrated against
older adults. Why? Many don’t pay
attention to those emails. It’s really a
shame.
Think about this. Scammers make
their money by conning YOU. They
are very, very good at their jobs. And
when one scenario pays off, they let
all their friends know what is giving
them a greater income. A favorite is the
grandchild: she or he had an accident,
was arrested or needs bail. Any one of
these. Sometimes, a person will get on
the phone and beg grandma and grandpa to send money. If the grands don’t
speak to their grandchildren often, will
they know who is really calling? Also,
older adults don’t always stay current
with technology. And, heaven help us,
AI (artificial intelligence) is going to
make the situation infinitely worse.
The Federal Trade Commission (www.
ftc.gov) has links on its home page to
report fraud and scams. Yes, use that.
Also, the Maryland Attorney General’s
website. Equally important: go to the
SECU website once a month and review
the current scams that are making the
rounds.
ents, pay attention to their behavior.
One banker I met saw a customer
buying gift cards, something he’d never
done before. He was told to mail these
gift cards to bail out his godchild.
Fortunately, the bank stepped in and
called the police.
It used to be that financial institutions
were mandatory reporters when they
saw financial fraud. That’s changed.
There’s no one who watches over this.
And, since AI is growing by leaps and
bounds, it may get a lot harder to stop
scams and fraud. The baby-boomer
generation is huge, around 72 million
people. Check in on those you care
about regularly. Please.
“Normalize conversations about fraud
protection by talking about the steps to
take to stay safe from scams,” adds
Smith. “We are the best protection for
the people we care about. And SECU
has a Financial Wellness checkup that
provides education and counseling.
Money is a difficult topic for anyone
and everyone. Make it commonplace.
You need to bring it out in the open.
Fraud and scams work better in the
dark. Whether you are a member or not,
call us and we will help.”
Talk with SECU and ask what else
you can do to prevent incursions into
your bank accounts and your computer
and/or phone. Learn about multi-factor
authentication (MFA) and passkeys. Do
you know what they are? If you have
any question, ask. And then learn how
to use them.
One more item: SECU is partnering with CAREFULL (https://getcarefull.
com) for its members. It estimates that
losses in 2022 amounted to $8.8 billion.
CAREFULL guards your money, credit,
and identity from threats, thieves, and
everyday money mistakes. CAREFULL
monitors your money and is recommended by the Alzheimer’s Association
and many Credit Unions, like SECU,
insurance agencies, and medical insurance companies.
Marylanders over age 60 lost more
than $46 million to fraud in 2024.
And if you are a caretaker for par-
Financial Literacy
When I was teaching marketing at
the University of Baltimore, there was
today, that’s where they are. One of
our newer services is a virtual financial
center, which we call ‘Banking on your
schedule.’ It acts exactly like a bricks
and mortar branch, one that’s open
24/7. Aside from debit cards, we can do
everything else online. You can make an
appointment, and you’ll be connected
to a real person, like a Zoom call. You
need a VPN, a virtual private network,
for your privacy or you can use apps
like What’sApp or Signal, both of which
encrypt calls. Sometimes you can’t
plan ahead, so you can call and you’ll
be placed in the virtual lobby, waiting
in line, just as you would if you went to
a branch.”
one class that strayed far from the topic
we were supposed to be discussing.
Instead, after I mentioned FICO scores,
I learned that a majority of the students
didn’t know what that was. Originally
Fair, Isaac and Company and now just
FICO, it provides credit scoring. Banks
and credit cards will track your FICO
score for you. But you still need to know
what it is and why it’s important.
Smith brought up the topic of financial literacy. It seems, today, that too
many people – of all ages – are like
those in my class who didn’t know
what they didn’t know until we started
talking.
“The subject,” he says, “has five
main topics or modules: borrowing,
saving, spending/paying, investing, and
planning.
“Make sure all the members of your
family are set up for their financial
journey. SECU has modules so you
can learn about all the different areas
of money, like the pros and cons of
high interest rates, or Junk Debt. And
what about credit cards? You may think
those introductory rates last forever,
but you could lose all your assets if you
are not careful. Take time to learn about
money and make sure you do your
homework. Members can help their
parents and vice versa. Make sure you
are fully informed.”
Smith adds, “Banks don’t always
have the time to educate you and the
members of your family: to balance
your debit card, to see how your savings are doing – and talk about why
savings are important. Money is one of
the most difficult subjects in our lives
because it affects every aspect. We
want to do all we can to make your life
simple. This only scratches the surface.
And whatever you need, we are happy
to help.”
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