Integrated Partners Gives Advisors a Hand Amid Rising Fraud

Fraud protection company Carefull has a new deal with Integrated Partners to provide its AI-powered account-monitoring service to more than 200 financial advisors. 

That’s a benefit for advisors working with older clients who increasingly are targeted in scams that involve assets outside of the advisory relationship. “We kept hearing from our advisors about these really sad stories of their clients being taken advantage of financially,” said Andree Mohr, president of Integrated Partners. “A lot of it is not coming from accounts that advisors manage … These are things we couldn’t see or control, so it was tough for us to protect people.”

Taking a Toll

Financial scams are on the rise, and their toll is compounded by an aging population and increasingly sophisticated attacks. Scams have involved phony IRS calls, people pretending to be from charities, and more recently, texts alleging unpaid toll road bills. Fraudsters today have more tools at their disposal and are getting sneakier, and the tactics may catch even wary clients off guard. “Scammers are getting so smart that even younger clients are being scammed,” Mohr said. “It’s not just elderly clients that are being deceived.”

Carefull monitors different accounts for unusual activity and can alert a client’s trusted contacts if indications of fraud are detected. Being able to sign clients up for the service is a way for advisors to show they’re adding value, Mohr said, describing Carefull as “LifeLock on steroids.” Other firms have partnered with Carefull, including Cetera, Mass Mutual, and Coastal Wealth. The company started a pilot program three years ago with Nationwide. 

Recent data from the Federal Trade Commission shows scammers’ increasing success:

• The agency received 2.6 million reports of fraud in 2024, a figure similar to 2023’s.
• But more people were harmed, with 38% of those reporting fraud having lost money, compared with 27% in 2023.
• Among $12.5 billion in reported fraud last year, $5.7 billion was lost to investment scams, marking a 24% rise from 2023.

Scam School. Another benefit of the fraud-protection service is education, Mohr said. “It’s adding value in a way that we are not properly trained to do,” she explained. “It’s catching these scams before there is no actionable recourse for a client — but it’s also helping to educate clients and taking that really emotional conversation off of the advisor’s plate.”