San Luis Valley Federal Bank presents local scams targeting older adults, urges vigilance

San Luis Valley Federal Bank representatives delivered a presentation to the Monte Vista City Council on financial scams affecting the community and urged vigilance and reporting.

Delzia Worley, chief operating officer at San Luis Valley Federal Bank, and Mindy Chavis, branch manager in Monte Vista, told the council their bank conducts outreach to older adults and other community members to prevent fraud and financial abuse. Worley said banks are mandatory reporters for suspected financial exploitation and contact local law enforcement, the Social Security office or other agencies when they detect abuse.

Worley described common scams the bank has encountered locally and nationally: tech-support/home-repair scams, relative-in-need phone scams, overpayment/wire scams, cryptocurrency and person-to-person transfers, check-advance frauds (including fake employer or Publisher's Clearing House checks), and gift-card schemes where victims are asked to buy gift cards and transmit the information or receipts. She noted younger people report losing money to fraud more often, but losses by older adults are higher on average.

Worley and Chavis urged community members to be cautious with unsolicited links, to use passwords or verification phrases with family members to defeat relative scams, and to report suspicious activity. Worley summarized: "our message isn't to be scared, it's to be informed and knowledge is power." The bank said it works closely with local law enforcement and provides resources from groups such as AARP.

Councilors and staff had no objections; staff thanked the presenters and noted local law enforcement support in responding to reported frauds.