COLUMBIA, Md. — A new Maryland law gives banks and credit unions the power to temporarily hit pause on suspicious transactions involving older and vulnerable adults. For one Montgomery County woman, it comes after scammers drained nearly $600,000 from her retirement and savings accounts.
Judith Boivin's bank suspected a scam, but could not stop her from withdrawing her life savings.
"The financial system said this might be a scam, I didn't believe it. This was the FBI. I was asked to be an asset for a crime case," Boivin said.
Someone posing as law enforcement told her she was under investigation for fraud and money laundering. Over the course of 3 months, the imposter instructed her to liquidate all of her financial accounts to prove her innocence.
"The total that I lost was approximately $600,000. And it was the totality of my IRAs and my savings," Boivin said.
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Boivin testified in support of House Bill 1008, known as the Vulnerable Adult Banking Protection Act, and believes earlier intervention by her bank could have changed the outcome.
The new law, which takes effect October 1, gives financial institutions the authority to temporarily delay certain suspicious transactions involving adults 65 and older and other vulnerable adults. A hold can last 15, and in some cases 25, business days while the transaction is reviewed. Financial institutions are also permitted to notify a trusted contact and law enforcement.
John Bratsakis, president and CEO of the Maryland and D.C. Credit Union Association, also supported the bill.
"That's what we're all trying to do is try to find ways to protect our members," Bratsakis said.
He added that the trusted contact provision is not about giving someone else control over an account.
"So they're not signers on the account. They don't have access to the money, but it might be someone that somebody trusts that can look out for their interests," Bratsakis said.
He said the law is about slowing things down when something doesn't look right, and he has seen how empowering employees to question suspicious transactions can protect customers.
"There was a credit union locally that somebody requested a wire. And they had all the correct information to do the wire, it involved a mortgage transaction, but they wanted it to go to an individual versus the title company," Bratsakis said. "They paused it and then as they started to go through the process they were able to stop it and it was $80,000 that it saved someone."
Financial institutions are generally not required to reimburse customers who authorize transactions, even if those customers were scammed, making it especially important for customers to slow down and be skeptical of anyone pressuring them into sending money quickly.
Once the law takes effect, Bratsakis said credit unions will begin reaching out to eligible members about adding a trusted contact to their accounts. New customers will also have the option when opening an account.
Click here to learn more about AARP's legislative priorities impacting older Marylanders and what passed in the General Assembly session.
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