FirstBank Virgin Islands Joins AARP in the Fight Against Fraud and Financial Exploitation!

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Every year, millions of older Americans lose significant portions of their life savings to financial exploitation—that is, the improper use of another person’s resources through deceit, coercion, fraud, undue influence, and other means.

Recognizing the key role played by financial institutions—and particularly their front-line staff—in identifying and stopping financial abuse, AARP worked to develop a solution. The result was BankSafe, an online interactive training specifically for bank and credit union staff. BankSafe is a self-paced training with an emphasis on gamification and a focus on prevention, as opposed to simply recognizing and reporting exploitation. This unique design approach differentiates it from other financial exploitation trainings currently being used by financial institutions.

AARP VI is thrilled to announce that the first financial institution in the Virgin Islands to join us in the fight against fraud is FirstBank Virgin Islands. After the August 21st Elder Justice Summit, representatives from FirstBank Virgin Islands left energized and inspired to protect Virgin Islanders against fraud and financial exploitation. This week, FirstBank Virgin Islands became the first in the territory to enroll in the AARP BankSafe training program.

"It is so exciting to see FirstBank Virgin Islands take immediate action to help protect against fraud and financial exploitation. We are watching the fight against fraud go from inside the walls of our AARP conference rooms, directly to the frontline staff at FirstBank Virgin Islands," stated Pamela Toussaint, Associate State Director of Advocacy and Outreach for AARP VI.

AARP VI hopes that financial institutions across the territory join FirstBank Virgin Islands in enrolling in AARP's free BankSafe training program.