When you think about protecting your family from financial fraud, you may be thinking about locking down passwords and shredding documents. But CBS News business analyst and host of the “Jill on Money” podcast, Jill Schlesinger, said there’s another tool that’s even more powerful: conversation.
Talking with our parents, partners, siblings and children about phishing emails, phone calls, and other scams can flag issues before they become huge problems, Schlesinger said.
So how can families safeguard important financial information in 2026?
Step one: Assign a family CFO.
A family chief financial officer’s job is to get everyone on the same page when it comes to money, Schlesinger said.
“Conversations about money are hard. Conversations with people who may not feel in control of a lot of parts of their lives, those conversations, are hard. But this is actually really smart and protects everyone,” Schlesinger said.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends that a family CFO ask the following questions:
- What are your family members’ account numbers and how can you access their accounts?
- Who are the beneficiaries on property and investments?
- Where is household income deposited?
“With this information, you can put some safety measures into place,” Schlesinger said, “but again, you’ve got to talk to the person, him or herself, to find out the answers of these questions.”
Make a plan with older family members.
Start the conversation by referencing this article, Schlesinger suggests.
“I think what’s very helpful in the beginning, especially if someone is reluctant, is to say, ‘I am not trying to take control of your account. What I would like to do is be added as what’s called a trusted contact,’” she said. “You can do that at any financial firm, and this is great because it allows the institution to alert the account owner, but then also you, the trusted contact, if they notice suspicious activity.”
Schlesinger also recommends, if the account owner is up for it, receiving an extra copy of statements.
Freeze your credit.
“I think the best thing you can do in general — for each of us, whether we’re old, young, even for our babies who have new social security numbers — freeze your credit,” Schlesinger said. “This restricts access to a credit file that makes it almost impossible for an identity thief to open a new account in your name. It’s a little bit of a pain in the neck. You’ve got to freeze at all three major agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. And during that freeze, even if you yourself want to borrow money, you’ve got to unfreeze it. Borrow the money and then freeze it again.”
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Thomas Danielian produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Catherine Welch. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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