Colorado Banks Could Soon Freeze Suspicious Transfers to Stop Elder Fraud.

The Bottom Line

If a bank teller thinks a scammer is draining a vulnerable relative's account, they usually have their hands tied by privacy laws. This bill changes the rules, allowing banks and credit unions to freeze suspicious transactions for up to 180 days and giving them the legal cover to alert law enforcement before life savings disappear.

What This Bill Actually Does

Under current law, if a bank teller notices a 75-year-old customer suddenly trying to wire $50,000 to an unverified overseas account, their ability to intervene is complicated by strict banking privacy laws and a fear of being sued. The Adults' Security and Safeguards from Exploitation in Transactions (ASSET) Act changes that dynamic. It creates specific legal tools to stop the financial exploitation of eligible adults—defined in the bill as anyone 70 or older, or anyone 18 and older who lacks the capacity to make responsible decisions and is susceptible to mistreatment.

The most powerful tool in this legislation allows banks and credit unions to hit pause on a sketchy transaction. If a qualified employee reasonably suspects financial exploitation—which the bill defines broadly to include deception, harassment, intimidation, or undue influence—the institution can legally delay a disbursement for up to 90 days. That delay can be extended up to 180 days if the bank is waiting on the results of an investigation by local law enforcement or the county Adult Protective Services (APS).

To make this work, the bill creates strict disclosure rules paired with liability protections. Within two business days of freezing the funds, the bank must notify all authorized parties on the account (crucially excluding the person suspected of the fraud) and officially report the incident to law enforcement or APS. They are also authorized to share relevant, historical financial records with investigators—records that the bill explicitly exempts from the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) to protect the victim's privacy. In exchange for acting, the bill grants banks and their employees good faith immunity, meaning they cannot be sued civilly or face administrative penalties for freezing an account or alerting authorities, provided their intentions were sincere.

What It Means for You

If you have aging parents, or if you care for an adult child with developmental disabilities, this bill creates a vital new safety net for your family's finances. Scammers—whether they are anonymous online phishers, aggressive telemarketers, or even manipulative family members—rely on the speed of wire transfers and cash withdrawals to steal funds before anyone notices. By giving banks the authority to temporarily freeze suspicious disbursements, your family gets a crucial window of time. If a bad actor tries to drain an account, a sharp teller can now legally stall the transaction while the county steps in to investigate.

For everyday Coloradans over 70, this means you might occasionally face extra friction at the bank for large, unusual transactions starting August 12, 2026. If you legitimately need to move a large sum of money quickly—say, for a real estate closing, a major home renovation, or a medical expense—it is a good idea to proactively communicate with your local branch to ensure the transaction isn't flagged as suspicious.

The law also introduces a great opportunity to plan ahead using trusted contacts. The bill explicitly allows banks to notify a third party previously designated by the account holder if they suspect foul play.

• Action item: Sit down with your vulnerable family members and update their bank accounts to include a designated trusted third party (like an adult child or attorney).
• Action item: Review authorized users on your own accounts. Having clear designations in place ensures these new safeguards work for you, rather than causing unexpected delays when you legitimately need your funds.

What It Means for Your Business

If you operate or manage a financial institution—specifically a state-chartered bank or credit union—the ASSET Act fundamentally changes your compliance, training, and operational obligations. The law applies to a qualified individual, which the bill defines as any employee who performs monetary transactions, sells financial services, approves loans, or works in a supervisory or compliance role. These frontline workers are now the state's early warning system for elder fraud.

The operational shift here requires tight internal processes. If your team hits pause on a transaction, a strict countdown begins. You have exactly two business days to do two things: provide written notification of the delay to all authorized parties on the account (excluding the suspected bad actor) and formally notify local law enforcement or the county agency handling adult protective services. You will need to build workflows to track the 90-day and 180-day delay thresholds, ensuring you either release the funds, refuse the disbursement based on agency findings, or secure a court order to extend the freeze before the clock runs out. While the bill grants your institution broad civil and administrative immunity for acting (or failing to act) in good faith, your standard operating procedures must clearly define how tellers escalate suspicious activity to your legal or compliance teams.

For businesses outside of banking—like real estate developers, general contractors, or auto dealerships—you should be aware that large payments from older clients might occasionally hit a snag. If a 75-year-old client tries to wire you a substantial down payment and the bank's fraud algorithm or a vigilant teller flags it, the funds could be delayed.

• Maintain flawless documentation: Having clear, signed contracts and detailed invoices will help your clients quickly prove to their bank that a transaction is legitimate.
• Build in buffer time: If you routinely rely on large, rapid transfers from older demographics, consider building a few extra days into your payment expectations just in case a transaction is flagged for internal review.

Follow the Money

Interestingly, this major policy shift requires absolutely no state funding. The state's fiscal note projects a flat $0 impact on the state budget, aside from a minimal workload increase for the Division of Financial Services to educate banks on the new rules. The judicial system might see a slight bump in filing fees if these frozen transactions lead to civil litigation or court orders extending the freezes, but that impact is expected to be negligible.

The real financial and operational burden falls squarely on local governments. Because the bill mandates that banks report suspected exploitation directly to local law enforcement and county-level Adult Protective Services (APS), these agencies will likely see a significant spike in their caseloads. County departments of human and social services will have to absorb the cost of investigating these new reports and providing protective services. District attorneys and local jails may also face increased costs if these reports successfully lead to criminal fraud investigations and prosecutions. The bill does not provide any new state revenue to cover these localized expenses.

Where This Bill Stands

HB26-1110 is currently Signed Into Law. The latest official action came on 05/26/2026: Governor Signed.

That means the legislative process is complete and the bill is now law. The remaining questions are about implementation timing and how agencies, businesses, or local governments respond.