NAPSA Monthly Scam Webinar
Do Temporary Account Holds Protect Scam Victims?
THURSDAY, October 29, 2026
Description:
Older adults who are manipulated by financial predators may resist intervention from concerned professionals and continue to transfer funds from their accounts. An adult protection law in Minnesota authorizes financial institutions to place temporary holds on transactions if the older adult is believed to be experiencing financial abuse or a scam.
Dr. DeLiema partnered with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and Adult Protective Services to analyze data on elder financial exploitation cases that were referred for temporary holds between 2022 and 2025. She also interviewed older adults who experienced a protective hold, APS workers who recommended holds, and financial services professionals who placed holds to learn victim and intervenor perspectives on the effectiveness of this intervention.
In this month’s NAPSA Scam Advice Forum, Dr. DeLiema discussed the benefits of temporary account holds, their limitations, and current issues, and offered solutions to make holds a more effective intervention for scams. The session closed with a group discussion about balancing safety and financial autonomy.
Missed a session? You can catch up on previous webinars and access valuable scam prevention resources anytime by visiting our Scam Advice Forum – NAPSA
RESOURCES
- Resource Sheet
- Temporary Holds: An Immediate Stopgap to Protect Funds from Elder Financial Abuse and Scams (PDF)
- Navigating Social Security Deductions After a Scam or Fraud
- National Elder Fraud Hotline (U.S. DOJ) 1-833-372-8311National federal hotline for adults 60 and over to report fraud and providing support and resources/safety tips. Help with filing IC3 and FTC reports. Language line. https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/stop-elder-fraud/providing-help-restoring-hope
- Report Fraud to Local Police/Adult Protective Services (APS) as Well as One or More of These Federal Govt. Databases/Agencies
– FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov
– Federal Trade Commission (FTC): reportfraud.ftc.gov
– Report Identity Theft to the FTC: identitytheft.gov
– US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) 1-877-876-2455
- If Crypto Investment Confidence Fraud/Crypto-Relationship Investment (Pig Butchering) – contact local U.S. Secret Service office, in addition filing a complaint with CryptoFraud@SecretService.gov and ic3.gov.
- FBI Guidance for Crypto-Currency Fraud Victims in Completing an IC3 report
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2023/PSA230824 - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ (855) 411-2372
Help consumers connect with financial institutions such as banks to understand issues, fix errors, and get responses about problems, or submit a complaint about a financial service product
IRS Advice on Taxing Stolen Money 2025 and 2026
- https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-547 (May 13, 2026)
- https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515 (Jan 26, 2026)
- https://www.irs.gov/publications/p547#en_US_2025_publink1000171262 (Dec 19, 2025)
Co-Hosts: Steve Baker and Debbie Deem
Sign up for Steve’s weekly ‘www.Bakerfraudreport.com’ for worldwide news/trends/ arrests/prosecutions transnational organized crime frauds/scams.
Speaker: Dr. Marti DeLiema
Dr. Marti DeLiema, is a gerontologist and associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. She is the Associate Director of Education for the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation (CHAI) at the University of Minnesota. She studies financial victimization using focus groups, in-depth interviews, surveys, and panel data and collaborates with financial institutions, AARP, the FINRA Foundation, and federal protection agencies to analyze victimization risk factors and to test efforts to inoculate consumers from fraud and abuse through enhanced consumer education and advance care planning interventions. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, the National Institute on Aging, the Social Security Administration, the Administration for Community Living, AARP, and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
