1 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 29, 2021

PRIME TIME LIVING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 • A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA 55+

LIFESTYLE

AI’s ImpactInnovating health care

Early Detection Regular mammograms are still the key

Guardian Angels One bank goes above and beyondAlone and Lonely

Social isolation can Medicarebe detrimental Finding the right plan

Long-term Care Prostate Cancer 101 Lots of options abound Prostate cancer uncovered

2 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 29, 2021

PRIME 55+TIME LIFESTYLE

LIVING AI’S IMPACT ON HEALTH CARE Innovative applications for improved health outcomes 4

EARLY BREAST CANCER DETECTION Regular mammograms are still the key to fighting the disease 6

PROSTATE CANCER 101 Prostate cancer uncovered 8

ALONE AND LONELY How social isolation can lead to negative health outcomes 10

NAVIGATING LONG-TERM CARE Lots of options abound, so it’s important to do your research 14

MANAGE YOUR MEDICARE Finding the plan that’s right for you 16

GUARDIAN ANGELS PROTECT How one bank goes above and beyond to safeguard its customers 18

© 2021 Baltimore Sun Media

18 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 29, 2021

FINANCIAL

Guardian angels protect you and your money How one bank goes above and beyond to safeguard its customers By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer

With so many banks jumping on the bandwagon to reduce or eliminate per-

son-to-person contact, choosing instead to compel customers into using

online options or contactless drive-thru access, one local bank is going in

the opposite direction: The Bank of Glen Burnie (www.thebankofglenburnie.com). It also

sees the protection of its customers from scams and fraud as its mandate.

“Our bank is an integral part of our customers’ local community,” says Donna Smith, senior vice president and director of branch and deposit operations at The Bank of Glen Burnie (BOGB). “Our customers come in often and want to see a friendly“When we figure face, and maybe it’s old fashioned, but we

out a way to build love it. They have a lot of confidence in us. Demographically, we know we have a lot of a 10-foot wall, seniors as customers, possibly more than

these crooks find most local financial institutions, so we see taking care of them as a core element of our an 11-foot ladder.” service,” Smith says.

– Brian Frosh, “We’re a small shop, only eight locations; we really get to know our customers and their Maryland Attorney General normal banking habits, so we notice anything out of the ordinary and figure out a way to protect them. They’re not always happy at first when a transaction is questioned. But when we save them, prevent some scammer

from taking advantage of them, they’re very grateful,” Smith adds.

Thanks to Maryland’s Attorney General, Brian Frosh, protections are in place should you be the victim of any type of fraud or scam. In 2020, his office recovered $26.2 million for Maryland Consumers. On his web-site (www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov), there’s a comprehensive Consumer Guide for Marylanders that details various types of scams, many you’ve never heard about. It also tells you how to report a problem. That said, it’s far easier to prevent a financial scam or fraud than to go after the perpetrators.

Under the aegis of Maryland’s Department of Human Services, Project SAFE – Protect Adult Financial Exploitation – is a collabora-tion of 16 public and private organizations “that share a common goal of preventing and remedying financial exploitation of vulner-able adults.” As part of its mandate, it offers “training to the financial and law enforce-ment communities on how to detect and report financial exploitation. Project SAFE also educates older Marylanders on how to avoid financial exploitation,” according to its website.

Smith also emphasizes that awareness training is another crucial component of how The Bank of Glen Burnie works to protect

customers against fraud. Says Smith, “We’ve trained every customer-facing employee to be aware of the potential for fraud, elder abuse and any other possible crime against those over 65 years of age, and to always be vigilant. As far as we’re concerned, every customer, not just our senior population, is a vulnerable individual. That gives us additional tools when we suspect something bad is happening to them.”

What are the risks? Financial scams have gone far beyond an email from a prince in Ethiopia who needs your help and wants your bank account number. Today, the ones who perpetrate scams and fraud are extremely competent. After all, they make their living conning gullible consumers. And, sadly, technology allows them to mimic or clone email addresses, phone numbers, web addresses and more, so you must always be cautious.

“We work very hard to be as transpar-ent as we can, especially when it comes to fraud,” Smith adds. “If a customer gets a check in the mail, they bring it in. If they’re the recipient of an urgent phone call, it’s probably phishing. Any time they’re told to act immediately, to do something now, it’s probably not legitimate. Scammers will tell

Guardian, continued on page 22

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A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 29, 2021 19

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22 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Guardian, continued from page 18

them they’ll be fined, or the IRS is coming after them, anything to cause an emo-tional response designed to get hold of their money. We constantly remind them not to answer the phone. Valid callers will leave voicemail messages. And, if you believe there’s some truth in what you’re told, no matter what, call and verify. A popular scam is claiming a grandchild needs money to get out of jail or other dire straits. Everything – absolutely everything – can wait five minutes.

“Every time we talk with a customer, every touchpoint, is an opportunity to edu-cate them on the dangers that exist. When they open an account, modify their account, or just stop by, we’re alerting them of pos-sible threats to their well-being, and making sure we’re taking care of them.”

Information is provided at all branches on big screens, with brochures, and on the BOGB website. “Prior to COVID,” says Smith, “we planned to offer fraud prevention classes at our branches. We hope to be able to get back to this plan and offer this to our customers in the future.”

Not every problem is about money. “One customer,” Smith relates, “would come in so regularly, usually with his caretaker, we

could almost set our clocks by his routine. When he suddenly stopped visiting the bank, we contacted Maryland Adult Protective Services and the police. They found him on the floor. We learned later that if we hadn’t intervened, he would have died.”

Fear is another great motivator used by swindlers. “BOGB goes beyond financial fraud and scams. So, when one customer was threatened with a home visit,” Smith explains, “we tried to help by involving the appropriate authorities.”

Project SAFE defines financial exploita-tion as “any action which involves the mis-use of a person’s funds or property. Many people have been financially exploited by people they knew – paid caregivers, neigh-bors, even relatives. It also identifies those who are Mandatory Reporters, stating, “If you are a health care professional, social worker, police officer, or an employee of a health care facility or financial institution, you are a mandatory reporter of suspected exploitation of elders or vulnerable adults. Report in accordance with your professional obligations. If you are unsure to whom you must report suspected exploitation, ask your supervisor.”

Smith and her staff subscribe to report-ing financial issues. “It’s quite a burden and responsibility on the branch personnel. But we gladly take it on. If we can prevent something bad from happening, we will do so. And we question those we serve, even if they’re not happy about it. We never want to see someone taken advantage of. When something out of the ordinary occurs, we try to find an explanation. They’ll push back when we ask probing questions, saying, ‘It’s my money.’ Some get upset, but when we prevent something awful from occurring, they come back and say thank you.

“That’s why we’re always on the alert, especially for anomalies, like a larger than normal withdrawal, and we gently inquire as to the reason, asking ‘Are you going shop-ping?’ or ‘Planning a trip?’ If the answer is vague, we keep pushing. One customer withdrew $2,500 and then came back want-ing another $3,000. I finally asked directly, ‘Are you being asked to buy gift cards?’ a newer scam tactic. He replied, ‘yes’ and we called the police. He came back and thanked us.”

Scams and fraud almost always have these three things in common:

• You are contacted by a stranger. • You are offered a “great” deal, or a fam-

ily member is being threatened. • You must act right away. Some scams sound eminently reason-

able at first, so they may be hard to detect. Sadly, despite writing about them often, I have fallen prey. So don’t ever think it can’t happen to you. It can.

Another thing and it can’t be said often enough: Stop answering your phone unless you know who is calling. Legitimate callers will always leave voicemail.

With all that is going on and the amount of money extorted, it would be great if all banks behaved like The Bank of Glen Burnie. Unfortunately, they don’t. When I asked my bank what they do about fraud and scams, it sent a link, but it wasn’t easy to find on my own. Other banks and credit card compa-nies have sent out emails to their customers warning of the dangers, although we don’t always read them. It’s up to us to be hyper-vigilant. After all, it’s our money at risk.

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NG

S T R O NG

Two decades of strength. We’re only getting stronger. The world has changed in a myriad of ways in the past twenty years. So has life at Mercy Ridge. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing an unparalleled retirement lifestyle for seniors and their families. Our strength is truly in our numbers, and we’re so proud to be celebrating twenty of them now, and many more in the future.

Call (410) 561-0200 to schedule a visit.

2525 Pot Spring Rd. | Timonium,MD21093 | MercyRidge.com Mercy Ridge is committed to providing equal housing opportunities for all races, religions, ethnic groups and disabilities. A joint venture of Mercy Health Services and The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.

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A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 29, 2021 23

Guardian, continued from last page

The Newest, Lasted Scams Did any of these happen to you?

GIFT CARDBigBoxStore

While writing about the Bank of Glen Burnie, I started paying more attention to emails that appeared to be legitimate but, on closer examination, were scams. Since I still have a land line, I also noticed where calls originated, usually places I never heard of, so I knew they were bogus.

Glance through these samples. The email address was never from the com-pany that purportedly sent the missives. Most also had lots of typographical errors, another alarm. The samples below are exact copies of the fake emails, complete with errors. Hyperlinks were disabled.

What does this mean for you? More than ever, double check the return email addresses, even if they look legit. It’s scary how closely they resemble emails from companies with whom you do busi-ness, personal or professional. All it takes is one and you could be conned out of a lot of money. Move these to your junk folder. Don’t get caught.

Confirm Your Email: This one was supposedly from my inter-net service provider. It wasn’t.

Due to a new Upgrade on our server, We advise you to confirm you account details now to avoid Termination as we are kicking out inactive accounts.

By Monday, June 28, 2021 – 2:16 pm your email “bxxx@oxxx.com” password confirmation is required,

Confirm your email address: The person to whom this was sent didn’t have an account on Indeed.

Confirm your email address on Indeed Please download the attached account update file and log into the file to verify your email address.

Thanks for using Indeed!

If you need further assistance, please contact us.

Your last Deposit Many of us use Quicken or other Intuit products. Beware.

Dear xxx@xxx.com,

Thank you for choosing Intuit Payment Solutions. Your last Deposit could not be completed.

You need to verify your last Transaction in order to complete your Deposit. Kindly Logon below to Verify www.intuit.com

Thank You, Intuit Team

From Wells Fargo? Nope. Wells Fargo

Dear customer,

We notice some suspicious activities on your online banking and we are puting a hold on your account for your protection. We urge you to log on

to your online banking to verify your account information.

If you do not take these steps in order to protect you, your account will be deactivated and you will be required to visit your local branch to verify your identity.

Warnings on trending scams from Bank of America This is a copy of a very real email from Bank of America warning its customers of new ways criminals are trying to obtain your personal and financial information. Read through them so you know what makes up the latest cons.

Pretending to be your bank Don’t transfer money or provide personal information to someone you don’t know via a call, text, email or pop-up. We will never ask you to do this.

Asking you for remote access Never grant device access or download apps at the request of unknown compa-nies or individuals.

Posing as a legitimate company Scammers often pose as a legitimate business. Be sure to call to verify any email or other request for money using a number from a trusted source.

Last words… Most financial institutions will never

telephone you or ask for information that could compromise you. If you are ever in doubt about whom you’re speaking with, check the website for contact numbers and you initiate the call. That way you’re covered.

I’ve been getting calls – lots and lots of calls – purportedly from AT&T offer-ing me 50% off my monthly bill. When I needed to contact the company about a separate issue, I asked about this great discount. “No, we don’t call customers,” I was told. Good to know.

So, stay safe. It’s better to be overly cautious, that to be caught. It’s a tough world we now live in.