Now BankSafe has a new focus: training the staffs of peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services such as PayPal and Venmo to recognize and stop crooks.

The number of Americans using P2P services has steadily grown, estimated at about two-thirds of the U.S. adult population. A BankSafe study found that nearly 1 in 5 people who used a P2P platform in the past year have been the victim—or at least the target—of financial exploitation involving the platforms.

“Criminals will always adapt,” says Jilenne Gunther, AARP’s national director of the BankSafe Initiative. “We need to work together to outwit and outsmart them. Training that empowers the industry with the confidence needed to protect consumers is one of the best ways to do that.”

The new course has reached more than 10,000 PayPal and Venmo employees and will be assigned this year to all of the companies’ staff who work with the public.

BankSafe trains people dealing with the public at banks and other financial institutions to ask questions when an older customer suddenly wants to make a large withdrawal or looks to wire money to an unusual address or person.

“Tellers, financial advisers and call-center representatives are often the first and only line of defense,” Gunther says. “The BankSafe training gives frontline employees that knowledge and understanding of what we’re actually looking for,” says Melissa Teeter, a financial security officer. “It’s very interactive and easy to follow.”

BankSafe users navigate self-paced training modules with interactive games, real-life video scenarios and knowledge checks to test their skills in identifying the red flags of a potential scam and the best ways to stop a rip-off.

The efforts are paying off. BankSafe-trained staff have stopped nearly $300 million from being stolen from consumers, according to research developed by a team from Virginia Tech to measure the impact of training the staffs of financial institutions.

AARP can advise veterans and military families on making homes easier to navigate for caregivers and those needing care.

The Home Modification Benefits Guide will show them how to:

▶︎ Discover benefits to help them purchase, construct or modify their home.

▶︎ Apply for home modification grants and related assistance and programs.

▶︎ Locate free help from certified veterans service organization representatives.

“Nearly half of all veterans 45-plus report needing modifications to age in place or care for a loved one,” says Juanita Jimenez-Soto, who leads AARP’s veterans initiative.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials say these grant programs offer more than $150 million in funding each year, but fewer than half of eligible veterans take advantage of them. Find the guide at aarp.org/VetsHomeBenefits.

AARP is joining forces with the DAISY Foundation to honor the 5 million nurses who care for people 50-plus and their families. The goal is to encourage patients and family caregivers to nominate for a DAISY Award a nurse who has done an exceptional job in caring.

“When we brought this idea to AARP, the reaction was electric,” says Susan Reinhard, senior vice president of the AARP Public Policy Institute. “This is a way AARP can make sure our nation has enough nurses to care for older adults and their families.”

Cofounders Bonnie and Mark Barnes created the DAISY Award 25 years ago to thank the nurses who cared for Mark’s son Patrick during a fatal illness.

The award boosts nurses’ work satisfaction, improving retention rates and staffing shortages wrought by the pandemic, the foundation says.

Visit DAISYfoundation.org/aarp to nominate a nurse who has made a difference.