Transparency Creates Trust – A Compassionate Approach to Financial Exploitation with Sarah Barnhill

10 snips

Feb 26, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Sarah Barnhill, a fraud prevention expert from Western Bank with over a decade of experience, explores the pressing issue of financial exploitation. She highlights the importance of compassion and empathy in supporting vulnerable individuals. Key topics include recognizing fraud red flags, the need for ongoing education for bank staff, and collaboration with law enforcement. Sarah emphasizes creating a supportive environment for victims and shares practical strategies for protecting compromised accounts while ensuring dignity and respect in investigations.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Identifying Red Flags

Watch for a sense of urgency in customers’ requests.
Review account history for unusual activity, like large cash withdrawals.

ADVICE

Empathetic Listening

Shift from listening to respond, to listening to understand.
Focus on truly hearing the victim's experience to provide effective support.

ADVICE

Protecting Victims

Secure compromised accounts and identities immediately.
Pursue all available recovery options, collaborating with relevant parties like postal inspectors.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Banking on Fraudology is part of the Fraudology Podcast Network.

This episode of Banking on Fraudology tackles the pressing issue of financial exploitation with host Hailey Windham and guest expert Sarah Barnhill from Western Bank. Sarah brings her extensive experience in fraud prevention to shed light on the complexities of financial exploitation and how financial institutions can better protect vulnerable customers.

The discussion covers a wide range of topics, from identifying red flags and common fraud schemes to the importance of empathy and active listening when dealing with victims. Sarah shares valuable insights on creating a supportive environment for victims to come forward, emphasizing the need for patience and understanding in these sensitive situations. The episode also delves into practical strategies for securing compromised accounts, pursuing recoveries, and collaborating with law enforcement. One of the key takeaways is the importance of ongoing education and training for front-line staff to recognize and respond effectively to potential fraud.

Sarah and Hailey also discuss the role of bank culture in ensuring vulnerable individuals are treated with dignity and respect during fraud investigations. This episode is packed with actionable advice and compassionate approaches that can help financial institutions improve their response to financial exploitation.

Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding of financial exploitation and learn how to make a real difference in combating fraud.

------------------------------

Sarah Barnhill

https://www.identitytheft.gov/

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham/