Certain banks and credit unions can now freeze accounts under a new law meant to protect older and vulnerable citizens.
The Adults’ Security and Safeguards from Exploitations in Transactions Act, or ASSET Act, protects vulnerable adults from financial exploitation by allowing financial institutions to delay suspicious transactions, notify authorities, and provide legal immunity for good-faith actions.
It is designed to protect older and vulnerable adults in Colorado from financial scams and exploitation, particularly in banking and financial transactions, per the Colorado General Assembly.
It gives banks and credit unions more power to fight suspicious activity within consumer bank accounts.
Bank and credit union employees can also pause transactions and notify authorities if they believe they are being scammed.
According to the law, bank accounts can be frozen or restricted up to 90 days if necessary, under a review process.
ASSET act allows banks and credit unions to freeze bank accounts.
FrankNez has reported harm done to senior citizens through fraud and wire scams since 2023.
According to previous reports and tips submitted to the publication, senior citizens were getting their accounts frozen without resolution after Green Dot bank scams began to surface.
The issue here wasn’t so much that their accounts were being held under review after they initiated reports of possible fraud, it’s that the bank was not providing customers with any answers.
“I’ve been fighting with WMC/Green Dot for over two years; they froze my account after I filed complaints for fraudulent charges.
I’ve sent everything they’ve asked for, THEY NEVER FOLLOW THROUGH. SAME THING WITH NETSPEND, ALL ACCESS.
THEY BOTH HAVE MY MONEY AND WONT GIVE IT BACK,” reported Deborah Morrison to FrankNez in 2023.
Beth Williams, 78, said she had been a WMC cardholder for 10 years and was unable to gain access to her WMC/Green account for several months.
“Since August 4th I have been unable to access my WMC debit card account. On August 3rd I noticed 2 unauthorized charges & immediately contacted WMC/Green. My account had to be frozen per CS/ RESOLUTION dept.
I have been calling and spending hours on hold to reach CS trying to find out when my expedited replacement card is arriving! CS has given to me 4 extended dates when I’ll get my replacement card.
The flimsy CS explanations: 1st-upgrade system & 2nd having technical difficulties! I was told today by CS that the card is to arrive on or before August 27th, and by standard mailing. I am panicking and afraid that I’m being lied to,” she told us.
Senior citizens are prime targets for bank scams because fraudsters perceive them as having accumulated wealth, higher savings, and steady retirement funds.
City National Bank says, “Seniors have long been targeted for fraud that enables crooks to steal their money, property, investments or personal information.”
In fact, between July 2022 and June 2023, the U.S. Justice Department brought nearly 300 criminal and civil actions against more than 650 defendants who collectively stole more than $1.5 billion from over 2.4 million victims, according to the attorney general’s report to congress.
The ASSET act is meant to lower the chances of financial scams.
Credit Card Fraud Scams and Account Takeovers
Bank scams and financial fraud – U.S. Banking News.
Coloradans age 60 and older reported losing more than $74million to credit card and other financial scams in 2024, according to the FBI.
More than 3,100 people in that age group reported fraud, with the average victim losing nearly $24,000.
That’s a lot of money to be wiped out of thin air. The damage is irreparable to Americans who spent most of their lives saving what they could.
“Older Coloradans deserve to live with financial security – but years of hard work and saving can be ruined in an instant by a scammer,” said Colorado Senator Jessie Danielson.
“This law [ASSET act] will allow bankers and credit unions to stop fraudulent transactions before they go through.
It’s about putting safeguards in place to prevent scams and keep Coloradans’ hard-earned money in their bank accounts.”
Even as credit card fraud scams and other related activity has become prominent, not everyone is on board with the idea of banks freezing accounts to review possible financial fraud.
Americans Speak on ASSET act and Banks Freezing Accounts
“There is absolutely no reason to withhold funds from vulnerable seniors to stop suspicious transactions. Seems as though it’s just another way for the banks to use our money without us having any say,” said Jeri Carr.
“Meanwhile….if you’re on a fixed income with limited mobility and a bank freezes your access….your life just got harder. I understand the idea behind this – protection – however, no institution has a right to that much control. Particularly not a profit driven banking institution,” said a user by the name of Hamster Jesus.
Others like Mark say if banks have more power to freeze accounts, it can create a ripple effect severely crippling an individual’s finances.
“Is nobody reading this correctly. The banks are legally allowed to restrict your access to your accounts for 90 days regardless of if you tell them it’s not fraudulent.
If you don’t think banks will use this to collect overdraft fees and deny people access to their funds then you haven’t been paying attention to how business operate in this economy.”
“What legal recourse do you have to protect yourself from an account Freeze.
Credit union freezes your account then uses that freeze to stop payment on your car loan you have with them just to reposes your car. Extreme example but it says there are extra protections given to financial professionals if they are using this law,” he continued.
Credit card fraud scams, and any financial scam for that matter can create chaos in an individual’s personal life.
Is the ASSET act a solution to America’s banking and financial fraud problem? Or is it giving too much power to the already-powerful financial institutions?
Frank Nez is an American entrepreneur, journalist, writer, and investor. Frank's work has been cited by SEC and Congressional reports. Franknez.com is a personal finance and market news publication, dedicated to publishing content on money, investing, entrepreneurship, and retail investor news.
