The FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the National Center for Victims of Crime released a new guide Wednesday that aims to help advocates for victims of financial fraud.
The new guide, Taking Action: An Advocate’s Guide to Assisting Victims of Financial Fraud, is designed for consumer advocates, lawyers, counselors and others that help fraud victims. It provides these advocates with strategies for addressing the major types of financial crime, such as investment fraud and identity theft, by helping victims regain their financial footing and deal with any accompanying emotional trauma.
“While prevention strategies have an important role to play in addressing financial fraud,” said FINRA Foundation president, Gerri Walsh, “the increasing incidence of financial fraud has made more urgent the importance of consistent and accurate advice to victims.”
FINRA says that while anyone can be a victim of fraud, older people and those on the brink of retirement are particularly vulnerable. They are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters, and more likely to lose money once targeted, it notes. Moreover, it says that fraud researchers have found that many victims do not report frauds. The guide was developed, in part, to help increase the number of victims who report fraud and to get them access to assistance.
The National Center and the FINRA Foundation say they will continue to collaborate to train advocates, and encourage networking, in order to try and improve outcomes for victims of financial fraud.