Choose a Trusted Contact to Protect Your Money

Banks and credit unions sometimes become concerned that an account holder is experiencing fraud, a health crisis, or another emergency that affects their financial affairs. To help combat fraud, and to protect your financial well-being, we now allow you to choose one or more trusted contacts—like an adult child, another family member, or close friend—who Tower can reach out to for extra help in emergency situations.Banks and credit unions sometimes become concerned that an account holder is experiencing fraud, a health crisis, or another emergency that affects their financial affairs. To help combat fraud, and to protect your financial well-being, we now allow you to choose one or more trusted contacts—like an adult child, another family member, or close friend—who Tower can reach out to for extra help in emergency situations.

Let's look at how this might work, and how choosing a trusted contact could help you safeguard your finances. 

The situation

Imagine you have a friend named Lara, who listed her adult daughter as a trusted contact with Tower. Lara provided her formal consent for Tower to contact her daughter if the credit union has trouble reaching Lara or believes she is experiencing financial exploitation.

Today, Tower notices a large withdrawal from Lara's account. Lara does not usually make large withdrawals, so the credit union suspects the transaction may be fraudulent. Tower calls Lara and sends her an email alert, but Lara doesn't respond.

Tower then reaches out to Lara's daughter, the trusted contact, about their concerns. Lara's daughter informs the staff member that Lara has had a recent health crisis and is not able to use her cell phone.

Once she knows about the situation, Lara's daughter might help Lara by:

• Stopping by to see Lara in person to ask Lara if she knows about the withdrawal and to encourage Lara to contact Tower to address the situation
• Coming into a local branch in person with Lara, so Lara can confirm the withdrawal was fraudulent and talk to staff about next steps
• Helping Lara find out whether anyone else has accessed Lara's financial information (Note: the daughter would not be able to access any information without Lara's consent)
• Helping Lara stop that access
• Helping file a report with the police or other authorities
• Working with Lara to make a plan for how to prevent future problems and how to respond if something like this happens again

Because Lara provided advance consent to allow Tower to alert her trusted contact, Tower can help Lara get some extra support to report the suspicious activity and protect her money.

It's important to be sure you fully understand any financial decisions you make. Think about what it means to choose a trusted contact.

• The main benefit of choosing a trusted contact is that if an emergency happens, you have already identified someone who you'd want Tower to contact to help protect you.
• Think about people you know who would be a good fit for this job. You should choose someone you trust who is reliable and has your best interests at heart. You can choose a family member, friend, attorney, or someone else.
• Ask Tower to walk you through their trusted contact policy, to make sure you understand what it says.
• Make sure you understand when Tower can alert your trusted contact. For example, Tower may alert your trusted contact when they are unable to reach you or when they suspect possible financial exploitation.
• You can typically remove your trusted contact or switch to a new trusted contact. If you change your mind, you can tell your bank or credit union they no longer have your permission to contact that person. You will likely need to sign a written document acknowledging the change. Contact Tower right away if you want to change something.
• If you have concerns about privacy, family dynamics, maintaining your financial independence, or something else, talk to a Tower Member Service Representative up front about your concerns.

Remember—it may be advisable to name a trusted contact who does not also currently have control over your finances, ownership interests in your accounts, or authorizations to access, transact on, or withdraw money from your accounts.