Financial fraud prevention project intended to assist elderly members of ethnocultural communities

MONTREAL, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Alliance des communautés culturelles pour l'égalité dans la santé et les services sociaux (ACCÉSSS), in partnership with the Autorité des marchés financiers ("AMF"), announces the launch of a pilot project to deter financial fraud among the elderly in ethnocultural communities.

"Based on our expertise in the prevention of abuse in ethnocultural communities, we know that the elderly can be vulnerable to financial abuse. Many have worked throughout their entire lives and accumulated wealth but they do not always have sufficient linguistic skills to manage it properly. As such, they are at risk because dishonest individuals might offer them assistance that is not always beneficial," said Jérôme Di Giovanni, General Director of ACCÉSSS.

The financial support provided by the AMF Education and Good Governance Fund (EGGF) in the amount of $70,000 will allow ACCÉSSS to offer the following awareness and prevention activities:

• Develop educational and informational content (digital and hard copy) in consultation with the organizations of the three communities selected for the pilot project: Greek, Italian and Portuguese.
• Translate and culturally adapt, in the languages of these communities, guides and checklists pertaining to effective financial management and fraud prevention.
• Organize three training workshops for educators from selected organizations and distribute the guides and checklists in the language of each community.

"As far as the AMF is concerned, these activities will help improve knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to personal finance and prevent fraud, so we're pleased to be able to support such projects," said Mario Albert, AMF President and CEO.

"This is our first initiative in the area of finance. Given our aging population and particularly with respect to members of these communities, we believe that our project will contribute to the prevention of fraud among a clientele who can sometimes be vulnerable," concluded Mr. Di Giovanni.

SOURCE: Alliance of cultural communities for equality in health and social services (ACCÉSSS)

Information and requests for interviews:

Adina Ungureanu, Project Co-ordinator
Alliance des communautés culturelles pour l'égalité dans la santé et les services sociaux
Tel.: [phone], extension 22
Toll-free number: 1-866-774-1106, extension 22
E-mail: [email protected]

Sylvain Théberge
Autorité des marchés financiers
Tel.: [phone]
Toll-free number: 1-877-525-0337, extension 2341
E-mail: [email protected]

Source:
Alliance des communautés culturelles pour l'égalité dans la santé et les services sociaux
Autorité des marchés financiers