Bellwether Community Credit Union is proud to announce that 100 percent of their frontline staff are now certified by the CU Senior Safeguard, an educational platform for credit union employees to learn more about elder financial abuse, how to detect it and how to prevent it. Certification provided by this program supports requirements outlined in the Senior Safe Act to allow a credit union safe harbor when possible elder financial abuse has been detected.
“Bellwether takes the financial security of our members extremely seriously,” said Michael L’Ecuyer, President and CEO of Bellwether. “The peace of mind and trust of our members is of the utmost importance to us, and that is why we are so proud to have the entirety of our member facing staff certified by this worthwhile program.”
Introduced by the Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) and produced in collaboration with EverFi, a leading national technology company that provides education through innovative and scalable digital learning, the CU Senior Safeguard program equips credit unions with the information needed to defend elderly members as well as their caregivers and families.
In CCUA’s 2017 national survey, data showed over two-thirds of familial caretakers reported their elderly relatives had been the target of a fraud or scam, and that 28% of the elderly surveyed had actually been the victim of a scam. According to National Adult Protective Services, one out of nine seniors experiences financial exploitation but only one in 44 will ever report it.