Volume 18, Number 32
www.northhavencitizen.com
Friday, August 11, 2023
Lawmakers strike back against elder fraud Citizen report
It happens all the time — a senior citizen is bilked out of money by a scam perpetrated by a stranger or family member. But Gov. Ned Lamont is hoping that is going to become less common.
Gov. Ned Lamont speaks at Elim Park in Cheshire on Thursday, Aug. 3. Lamont visited the not-for-profit continuing care retirement community for a ceremonial signing of a bill to help protect seniors from financial exploitation. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
Last week, Lamont approved legislation giving banks the ability to put a hold on suspicious transactions that can be fraudulent. On Thursday, Aug. 3, before a crowd of seniors at the Elim Park retirement community in Cheshire, the governor signed “An Act Concerning Financial Exploitation of Senior Citizens.”
The new law allows financial institutions to temporarily suspend transactions if they are deemed suspicious of financial exploitation, which is defined as “taking advantage of an eligible adult by another person or caretaker for monetary personal, or other benefit, gain or profit.” State Sen. Paul Cicarella cosponsored the legislation. “Scammers are out there every day, using schemes to try to separate Connecticut seniors from their hard-earned money,” said Cicarella, a member of the legislature’s General Law Committee. “This new law adds an extra layer of protection so that if financial institu-
No leisurely summer for Junior gardeners Starting in mid-May, the North Haven Garden Club’s Junior Garden Club has been hard at work in the United Faith Methodist Church gardens. We have three plots this year with a large variety of vegetables planted; from spring crops like lettuce, kale and peas, to the summer crops of cucumbers, Brussels sprout, peppers, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, acorn squash, string beans, parsley, oregano, basil, pumpkins and watermelons. Every week our Juniors inspect the plants for any pest damage, water and weed, The North Haven Garden Club and its Junior Garden Club have been busy tending to See Garden, A6 three plots.
tions spot unusual activity on a senior’s account, they can ‘hit the pause button’ and alert that senior about the possibly fraudulent activity. On the General Law Committee, we focus on consumer protection issues, and this consumer friendly measure sends a message to seniors that we will continue to protect them from potential fraud and financial exploitation.” Under the law, which takes effect July 1, 2024, banks and credit unions can take action to hold transactions for 45 days that they suspect may be fraudulent, and are encouraged to watch for such transacSee Fraud, A5
Making beaches safer for birds Large numbers and varieties of shorebirds and seabirds, including the young ones of that year, travel annually along the Atlantic coast to spend their winters in the southern United States, Caribbean and South America, before heading north in the spring to breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada. Beaches, islands and inland lakes and rivers provide valuable winter stopover, and breeding habitat. Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, director of Bird ConservaSee Birds, A4