Jeanne D’Arc Brings Fraud Awareness Education to Senior Citizens
LOWELL, MA (August 16, 2024) – Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Financial Wellness Team taught seniors to “Spot the Scam” with recent interactive workshops at the D’Youville Life & Wellness Community and Methuen Village. The workshops helped the residents of both communities gain an understanding of financial fraud prevention and detection as well as actions they can to take to protect themselves.
The “Spot the Scam” workshop was created to shine a light on an activity that is used to threaten and take advantage of the elderly, and is often hidden due to fear or embarrassment until it’s too late to take action. This workshop allowed participants to see real-world examples of fraud and ask questions in a safe environment from a knowledgeable financial educator.
Residents were presented with crucial information about the ways criminals target senior citizens. The interactive sessions took the groups through the variety of approaches and common tactics criminals use; red flags to watch out for in fraudulent text messages, calls, and emails; and the ways fraud has impacted their lives directly.
“With each workshop we facilitate, we are educating our most vulnerable members and community on how they can protect themselves from financial exploitation,” said Robin Lorenzen, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union. “We also provide a safe environment for them to share their personal experiences and ask questions that will provide them with the knowledge to avoid falling victim to fraud and identity theft in the future.”
Ashley Gonzalez, CDP, Enriched Life Director of Methuen Village, said of the program’s impact, “It has allowed the residents here to feel a bit more secure and safe in the world of scams. It allows them to have more independence and understanding as well as some confidence to know what is going on and how they can best protect themselves, which is invaluable.”
If you’re interested in hosting a workshop for seniors please contact us here.
Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Financial Wellness Team also provides workshops for groups of all ages, knowledge, and experience levels. From “Money Concepts for Teens” and “Needs vs. Wants” for young children to “Build Your Budget” for adults, they bring these workshops across Merrimack Valley to support a financially healthy community through greater financial understanding. For more information about the Financial Wellness Team and the programs offered, visit https://www.jdcu.org/resources/financial-wellness/.
About Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union:
Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union was established in 1912 and is a full-service, community-based financial cooperative. Locally owned by 101,000 members with $2.1 billion in assets, Jeanne D’Arc operates eight full-service branches in Lowell, Dracut (2), Tyngsboro, Chelmsford, Methuen, and Westford, Massachusetts, and Nashua, New Hampshire; high-school branches at Lowell High, Dracut High, and Nashua High School South; a loan center in Lowell; and a mortgage center in Chelmsford. Follow Jeanne D’Arc on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.