LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — The holidays can be a prime time for scammers, as more and more people shop and spend money.
If we're not careful, this time of the year can also be rough a time for our most vulnerable... the elderly.
The SAFER AR Act was passed in Arkansas this year to help prevent elderly citizens from falling victim to scammers.
Bankers in the state noticed reoccurring issues, such as an elderly person coming in and saying that someone needed thousands of dollars from their bank accounts.
But, with this new law bankers can now step in and freeze the account before any other transactions are made.
From that point, they can contact a close family member, friend, or even law enforcement.
Arkansas Rep. Carlton Wing sponsored this bill after his former Sunday school teacher was told she won the lottery-- that turned out to be a scam.
She lost hundreds of thousands of dollars that she couldn't recover.
"Now we've created a mechanism so that the bankers, the credit unions can say, 'hey something is happening here' and they can report it to the attorney general and they can take some quick action," said Rep. Wing.
This new law makes some big changes in account security-- it now allows banks to alert more than just the family if there is a possible scam.
"Before, they could only contact the family and now they know if someone is associated with the account, because maybe the family is the problem. This allows them within the law to make that contact or contact law enforcement directly," said Lorrie Trogden, CEO of the Arkansas Bankers Association.
According to the Attorney General's Office, since the law went into effect in July of this year, around $25,000 has already been saved from scammers and returned to Arkansas seniors.
If you suspect someone you know is getting scammed, you can go directly to the bank if there was already a transaction.
You also can go to the Attorney General's Office and work with them to make sure your loved ones' money stays safe.