Protecting participants and their hard-earned dollars

Millions of Americans are impacted each year by identity fraud, and retirement plans continue to be a target for fraudsters. Identity fraud losses totaled $43 billion in 2022, affecting 40 million U.S. adults.1   

We’re committed to cybersecurity protections and fraud prevention to help safeguard your participants’ retirement accounts and investments.  Here are a few key resources that demonstrate that commitment:

Nationwide Account Pledge

With Nationwide Account Pledge, you and your employees can have confidence that we are here with protection if fraud happens.

Best practices for you as a plan sponsor

We’re in this together. While no singular solution is perfect, one way to combat fraud is to combine forces across people, process and technology. As a plan sponsor, you can help play a critical role:

  • Collect census data, share it with your retirement plan services providers and ensure that all parties use it for identity verification
  • Authenticate callers
  • Validate first-time email interactions
  • Review email content, watching for red flags
  • Monitor higher-risk email addresses
  • Evaluate in-service distributions: Does the request make sense for the participant’s life situation?
  • Monitor for and review frequent distribution requests
  • Monitor for the use of internet banks and add precautions when used
  • Perform signature verification

Nationwide Account Lock

We support your participants by providing Nationwide Account Lock, which protects your participants with:

  • Enhanced security that’s under their control
  • Options to lock and unlock their account when they’re ready
  • Notifications every time a distribution is requested, providing an extra layer of protection

Cyber Insights Hub

We have also created a Cyber Insights Hub for you and your participants to access. It’s a one-stop resource providing you with the latest cybersecurity knowledge and best practices as we work together to protect your participants’ retirement futures.
[1] “Identity Fraud Losses Totaled $43 Billion in 2022, Affecting 40 Million U.S. Adults,” Javelin Strategy & Research study cited by GlobeNewswire, globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/03/28/2635652/0/en/Identity-Fraud-Losses-Totaled-43-Billion-in-2022-Affecting-40-Million-U.S.-Adults.html (March 28, 2023).