Identity theft and financial fraud are among the most common risks clients face, yet they are often missing from financial plans. Many clients assume their homeowners policy, bank, or brokerage will make them whole. In practice, the coverage that exists is often capped at low sublimits, limited to reimbursing expenses, and triggered only after a loss has occurred.
Join protection expert Jonathan Ruggerio for this CE-eligible session (CFP & IAR) to learn how identity theft and fraud affect clients across life stages, with particular attention to older adults, who face rising losses from investment scams, impersonation, and account takeover. Attendees will review the limits and exclusions of common coverage layers, including homeowners identity endorsements and the reimbursement policies of banks and brokerages. The session also covers forms of identity theft advisors encounter directly, including tax identity theft and Medicare/medical identity theft.
Attendees will learn a vendor-neutral framework for moving clients from reactive coverage to proactive guardrails, such as credit freezes, account alerts, the IRS Identity Protection PIN, and trusted contact designations. The session also addresses the advisor's own role, including trusted contact requirements under FINRA Rule 4512, protections under the Senior Safe Act, and how to recognize account-takeover attempts that come through the advisor's firm. The session includes two case walkthroughs and time for Q&A.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the most common identity theft and financial fraud patterns affecting clients across life stages, including tax and medical identity theft, with emphasis on older adults.
- Evaluate how homeowners identity endorsements, bank and brokerage reimbursement policies, and other coverage layers respond to identity-related losses, including their limits, sublimits, and exclusions.
- Apply a guardrail-based planning framework that combines proactive protections, trusted contact designations, and reactive coverage in a comprehensive client review.
