Maryland Project SAFE (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation)

The Maryland Project SAFE stands for Stop Adult Financial Exploitation and it is formed by 16different organizations in the state of Maryland. The purpose of the program is to protect elderly citizens from financial fraud. The program provides different remedies and services to help create awareness about financial fraud and its prevention. The SAFE program has various training that is given to law enforcement agencies and members to help them detect fraud and ways to report those frauds through legal means.

Many adults are faced with property and money theft through scams and fraud in the state of Maryland. This is known as financial exploitation where people wrongfully take money from adults who might not be well-aware of the system.

The different services provided by the project SAFE in Maryland including providing resources to the financial institutions and their staff. The program has developed a manual reference model for the employees that are available on the program’s website. The program also gives out a brochure that is created to spread awareness about financial frauds to the public of Maryland along with a flow chart that provides complete information on how to report a fraud. You can find the brochure on the program page on the DHS website. Their brochure also has information on the types of accounts to enter and what kind of joint account should the adults avoid.

The exploiters can target any adult regardless of their gender, age, race, culture, and other such factors. The reason elders are targeted the most is because they are usually well-off or have an accumulated amount of wealth through work, pension, and other sources. Many elders are also not tech-savvy and can be easily fooled through that and it has been also shown by a report that as you grow old your ability to recognize and differentiate a valid offer from an illegitimate offer may decrease. The Project SAFE program helps these vulnerable adults by creating awareness in the community as the safety and financial well-being of these adults is the top priority for the Stop Adult Financial Exploitation program.

Anyone can report financial fraud by following some simple steps. The first step is to call 911 if you suspect someone of doing financial fraud or if you think an adult is about to fall prey to a financial scam. You might find out that an adult is transferring money to a dubious insurance company with no proper business records.

The next step is finding out if the adult is vulnerable or not. In case the adult has some form of disability either mental or physical), call the adult protective services office in your local community and inform them of the person’s situation. Every county has its own APS office.

Once the Adult Protective Services is notified about the adult, they send their program representatives to investigate the cases and analyze the adult’s condition. If the adult is being financially exploited by the program, then intervene and arrest the culprit and provide safety to the vulnerable adult, even if you are not completely sure if the adult is vulnerable or not, the best way to ensure that is to call the APS office who will investigate the situation. To find out the full list of information on how to report a financial report kindly visit the DHS official website.

If you are working in the banking sector and come across a case of harassment or financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, you are required by law to report the incident to the Department of Human Services. You do not have to relate to the individual to report abuse. Whether you are a police officer, working in a health care facility, or a social worker if you see an adult being manipulated or abused you are required to report the abuser to the social services in your area.

To learn more about the Maryland Project SAFE (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation) or to report abuse you can call the social services office at the following number: 1-800-AGE-DIAL / 1-800-243-3425

Also Discover: Maryland Adult Protective Services