Episode 42: The trust trap: How scammers target seniors and their wealth

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Many folks spend their lives building financial security for their later years. Unfortunately, criminals know that, and that makes seniors some of their favorite targets. I'm Oscarlyn Elder, head of investment management at Truist Wealth, and this is I've Been Meaning To Do That, a podcast from Truist Wealth, a purpose-driven, financial services organization. We appreciate you listening.

When we think about scams, we might imagine something obvious—a poorly worded email, or a suspicious phone call. We expect something easy for any adult, even a senior loved one, to recognize and avoid. The reality today is very different. Scams now aren't reliant on just not knowing; they're carefully designed to exploit trust, authority, and urgency. And anyone can be tricked. Today, we're welcoming back to the podcast Charlotte Edwards, vice president of operations at Cyberwolf, to talk about fraud against seniors and how to prevent it.

Cyberwolf specializes in cybersecurity for business leaders, wealthy families, and others with a heightened need for protection. Cyberwolf is a referral partner of Truist Financial Corporation. Charlotte, thank you for coming back to I've Been Meaning To Do That.

Charlotte Edwards:

I am very glad to be back, and I appreciate the invitation. It is a crucial and very important topic; so very happy and appreciative to be a part of this conversation.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Charlotte, last time you joined us, we talked quite a bit about digital security and protecting wealth and privacy online. That was such an interesting episode, and I encourage listeners to check it out at Truist.com/dothat. Today, we're going to focus on attacks and scams that target seniors who are especially vulnerable online. Just how serious is this issue?

Charlotte Edwards:    

It is a very serious issue, and I do want to start or lead with the fact that it isn't about intelligence or maybe being gullible. Modern scams really are built to exploit trust, authority, and urgency. They are designed to look like normal life, which means they are designed to look like a normal customer service conversation or a phone call from a real financial institution. Specifically for older adults, the scale really is staggering. We really see that—especially in families with more complex finances—the bad actor just has more angles to work with. If you have more complex finances, that typically means you have more accounts. There are more people involved, and there is more public visibility. So, the environment for these families typically gives more surface areas for bad actors to impersonate and to manipulate.

The FBI actually released its latest crime report with all of the 2025 numbers. There is a dedicated segment there specifically for elder fraud and complaints filed by 60-plus individuals. What do those numbers show? They show that, in terms of number of complaints, more than 200,000 complaints were filed. That is a 37% increase versus 2024. If we then look at the total dollar amount, there has been just under $8 billion in losses that were filed, and that is an almost 60% increase versus the year before, so versus 2024. But we actually see the biggest increase for complaints where there was a loss recorded of more than $100,000. So, if we summarize the numbers, but also what we see with Cyberwolf, we see the total number of complaints specifically for seniors rising. We see the total dollar amount rising. And we also see the strongest growth for losses that went over $100,000.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

That's a staggering number, $100,000. This is very serious. And I'm thinking about the difference between ’24 and ’25, and what changed to make these numbers increase so much. And I'm just wondering, does the rise of artificial intelligence, generative AI, have anything to do, you think, with what we're seeing here?

Charlotte Edwards:    

It absolutely is one of the main vectors that is impacting it. Because we just see AI, on one hand, making it a lot easier, even maybe for bad actors that were not active or not as active, to actually step their game up. And we just see the overall sophistication of it increasing as well, so also the success rate of it increases. Absolutely, AI is a main driver behind that double-digit growth that we see from 2024 to 2025.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Well, Charlotte, that really goes to show us the scale of the challenge overall. But let's talk first about recognizing the vulnerabilities in our own lives and our families when a senior is involved. Everybody's situation is unique. Let's start first with your thoughts around just general awareness.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Indeed, prevention is very important, but awareness is that first crucial step that individuals and families have to take. And awareness gets a lot easier if you sort vulnerabilities into two buckets. That first bucket can be everything that is related to event-driven vulnerabilities. That second bucket is more about life-stage vulnerabilities. If I double-click on that first bucket, which is event-driven vulnerabilities, think about a business that an individual or family may sell. Think about the sale of a residential home. There's a cash infusion that happens. An event-driven vulnerability can also be a public recognition that there has been a philanthropic donation, or the fact that there has been some community or charity work done. Also, think about the fact that an individual may have acquired a new status, so that could be a widowed person or a divorced person. And there, there is an extra level of additional emotional vulnerability that comes with it.

And typically, those are very public as well. It's very easy to—actually, if you would even do a simple Google search—find information about that. But that's, I would say, that first bucket of vulnerabilities that you can think about; that is important when we talk about awareness.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

It's these public events that we need to be aware of that, at that time, where you're either celebrating or in grief, often your vulnerability increases dramatically. And so, just having that awareness is important. What's the other bucket?

Charlotte Edwards:    

Indeed, you then have that second bucket, which is really about vulnerabilities that come from life stages. This second bucket really touches on realities that are just prone to aging. What we typically see there is that the elderly have, on one hand, more accumulated assets. This is a group within the society that has more savings, more home equity. We also see that these are typically people who have more discomfort when it comes to technology changes. We also see there is an increased cognitive decline. There's also increased isolation for this group of people. And very interestingly, and also very unique to this group, is they tend to be overly trusting when it comes to an authority. An authority could be a bank, it could be the doctor, it could be an institution like an insurance company, could also be the government.

Very simply, because if you would go back in time—20, 30 years, maybe 40 years even—these were typically institutions or authorities that were not impersonated because you typically had in-person interactions with them. We really see that that group of elderly people have really a very big trust when it comes to those authorities.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

What you're saying, it's often related to uniqueness around aging, demographics, perhaps cognitive decline, but doesn't have to be cognitive decline, because it could just simply be that the personality profile is more likely to trust digital interactions or non-in-person interactions that are representing or misrepresenting medical, financial, governmental.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely. What we typically then do to help create that awareness is we try to ask families or individuals: “Has something changed recently? Is there something that makes it harder for you to verify or that slows you down? And are there any new doors opened or left opened where bad actors can take advantage of?” That can indeed be one of those life-staging vulnerabilities.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Charlotte, if there are more psychological angles of attack these days, how are scammers taking advantage?

Charlotte Edwards:    

There are absolutely a lot of scams we see recurring, especially within that specific group. The top three that I would like to highlight is tech support scams that we see. We also, secondly, see a lot of phishing, and again, dedicated to any government or financial institution impersonation. And thirdly, a lot of investment scams. Interestingly enough, when we look at the total number of complaints, we see phishing is number one. We see tech support scams coming in second. And third is the investment scams in number of complaints. But if you look at the total dollar amount, it is a different order. There, you actually see investment scams being number one. In total, the investment scams have been at almost $3.5 billion out of that almost $8 billion that they have reported. Tech support amounts up to just over $1 billion. And specific government impersonation is just around $400 million.

It's interesting, and it shows that those investment scams could be perceived as the most damaging, specifically within that senior community. Because, of course, in terms of financial losses, they wreak the most damage—but also emotionally—we typically see with those scams as well that these are the ones where the bad actor very patiently builds credibility, and it can go very far in those scams. We have seen cases where bad actors have taken on multiple identities, where they have created fake companies, fake LinkedIn company pages, fake employees. Because they have to create, over time, a very credible scenario where it feels logical to make such a large transfer or to ask that money from an individual.

To summarize it, we have those three: tech support, phishing, and investment scams. But I do want to emphasize that the investment scams specifically for seniors, in terms of total dollar amount, but also emotional damage, is absolutely one that we should be very mindful and wary of.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

And can you give us an example of maybe the prototypical investment scam that you're seeing, that you've seen within your client base?

Charlotte Edwards:    

They typically target the wealthy audience because they just know that they have access to the means to do such a large dollar amount transfer. And typically, they always come with a proposal of a new company that they can do an early investment in on. But what we see as a tactic being used very often is pig butchering. What that means in cybersecurity—it is specifically for investment scams, but also for crypto scams­—the bad actor comes with a very concrete proposal of “here is a company that you can do an early investment in,” and they actually propose them to start with a smaller amount to do an investment on. And they promise a return of a double-digit percentage.

And we actually see that return is being paid in the very beginning. The person that does the investment receives the money and believes that this is a true investment, and that pushes them over the threshold to do a larger dollar amount investment. And they keep on pushing this until they have reached a very significant—and that can be a couple of hundred thousand, sometimes even in the millions—investment until they suddenly disappear and they go off the stage.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

One of the things that you said that really strikes me are the promises of returns. And one thing we know from the investment world, no promises should ever be made. We're not allowed to use promissory language, and so that right there should be a red flag.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely. They promise the moon and the stars, and they will give you back a tiny bit of the money just to convince you. And then it just keeps on snowballing in a larger and a larger scam.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

That type of scam has been around, probably for centuries on some level. The scale of it has changed dramatically over the years.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely. And they have taken it both in the physical and in the digital world. Interestingly enough, we even had a scam once where the moment that a large dollar amount had to be invested, they actually sent a physical person to their home as well to sign some documents. We actually see it going from merging the digital and the physical world.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Yeah. Kind of a hybrid attack, if you will, both digital and in person. Wow. Thank you for that background. I think folks getting some sense of the level of detail is really important.

In our previous discussion about cybersecurity—our previous episode—we talked about trusted circle attacks, where the criminal targets the victim by gaining trust or access to someone within their circle, such as a family member or an employee. That seems like it could be a real vulnerability for a senior who relies on caregivers. Is that the case?

Charlotte Edwards:    

Yes, absolutely. And I do want to say this very carefully; that caregivers are doing essential and very honorable work. And the risk that can come with caregivers is about the position, not about the person. Caregivers are in a very unique position—they have very unusual, deep access. They know all of the routines of an individual. They know all of the family names. They often help with a lot of the paperwork. They have access to a lot of the devices, as well, of the individuals, and that can make them very useful for criminals in three different ways.

On one hand, they can be exploited. Secondly, they can also be impersonated—to make the senior do something because they believe that they are interacting with the caregiver. And thirdly, this is in really rarer cases, they can become part of a financial exploitation themselves. Now, the goal is not to be suspicious, but it is about removing single points of failure. Meaning, that if everything accumulates with that one person or with that one caregiver, think about putting guardrails in place where money movement and personal information doesn't just go through a caregiver, but there's multiple checks and balances in place, just to be 100% sure.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Help me understand how a family may do this practically. What I'm hearing you say—I'm going to translate this into my everyday world—is that there needs to be some segregation of duties. Perhaps give us just a basic example of how a family might establish, or that trusted circle might establish, some of those checks and balances.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely. It is indeed about a segregation of responsibilities. And the moment, for example, that caregivers would start asking for personal information or personal documentation to help with some taxes or to help sign off on some documents, that is typically not something that should be in the responsibilities of a caregiver. But there you should look at whether it's a lawyer or an accountant or somebody in the family who really makes sure that the caregiver responsibilities don't trespass that. And if they do, that there's just an additional person who does a check, whether it is the significant other of the individual, whether it is the child, or the aunt, or somebody else who just does a final sign-off—a final check that just doesn't go through the hands of one single person and a family member or somebody who cares about the family.

You could have regular check-ins with a caregiver as well, that doesn't necessarily have to be every week, but it could be every two to three weeks. Just a short check-in to ask them: “How's everything going? Has there been anything out of the ordinary? Has something changed recently?” But keeping the finger on the pulse, because that caregiver does have very deep access to, not just the individual's life, but the family as a whole.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Well, Charlotte, I'm sure it's very frightening for any family to experience their loved one being victim to a scam at this level. When we return in just a moment, we're going to talk more about additional prevention for these kinds of senior exploitation scams.

[MUSIC BREAK]

Oscarlyn Elder:

Charlotte, I know the best possible outcome when it comes to seniors in scams is not to fall victim in the first place. For ourselves or a loved one, how can we start planning a prevention strategy?

Charlotte Edwards:    

The best starting point is indeed that personal security circle. That could be two or three trusted people that the senior has already agreed to contact before responding to anything unexpected that can involve money or passwords, account access, or—for example—a new investment. Think about if you have a family setting: It very often is the youngster of the family asked to help with anything technology-related. Which sometimes can lead a bit to, I would say, somewhat of an eye roll. But if you ask that explicit buy-in for people to be a part of that circle, that really can change the dynamic and the willingness. And it also doesn't have to be one person; it can be two or three different people.

And have a discussion with them altogether about what can be some trigger moments of “this is a moment when you call the circle.” And that could be an urgent request to move money, a new investment pitch, especially if it's an unsolicited investment pitch, or maybe a request for secrecy. We had a case where somebody was called by an impersonator of the FBI asking him to work on a case that was highly secretive. He could not talk about it with the significant other, with the family members. Knowing that there's that secrecy component involved as well, that can be a trigger moment—and important when establishing that circle, when asking that buy-in. It doesn't need to be something cumbersome. It can just be, “if I call you, it's just for a quick reality, gut-check feeling. I don't expect you to dive into all of the details with me,” which again makes it a bit lighter, makes that willingness and the effectiveness of that security circle a lot higher and a lot better.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

I think what I've experienced in talking to folks is that often there might be an element of embarrassment for needing to put together this trusted circle. However, when I think about it, CEOs—senior leaders—have a trusted circle, right? They have their boards. And often when folks are forming a new company, they put together an informal advisory board. And most of us get through life because we've got wise people that we trust to bounce ideas off of—especially at really important moments in life. This, to me, doesn't feel like it should be any different, but there is this perception that it's different.

Charlotte Edwards:    

That really ties into all of the emotional, more psychological side of this whole discussion. They don't want to feel embarrassed, and they especially do not want to be stereotyped of being frail or maybe being gullible. And when you have that discussion to set up a security circle, the message should not be: "We are watching you,” or “You cannot do this anymore." The message should really be about: “We are protecting your independence, and smart families do this in advance, so you are not alone in a high-pressure moment. And it's not just you, but we're actually doing this together with the whole family.”

Oscarlyn Elder:          

I love that, a no-shame agreement, no judgment. This is a no judgment zone. And the reality is these attacks have become so sophisticated, and they do play on demographics and psychological orientation, that I will share. I know we're focused today on the senior element, but I think about what comes to my email inbox and some of the calls that I've gotten. And there are times where you have to look at stuff two, three, four times and go, "Is this real? Is it not real?" All of us, at times, may need the wisdom of a circle to help us get through various challenges that come our way. And this is really no different; it's just wanting to protect and make sure that someone's life's work is not eroded because of a bad actor.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Charlotte, these conversations, as you've pointed out, can be so incredibly valuable. But as we've talked about the internet, digital means of communication, the cell phones that we're all walking around with—they're just so pervasive in all of our lives, and they present so many potential vulnerabilities. What are your top tips, if you will, for how we can minimize those risks?

Charlotte Edwards:    

We always lead with minimizing risk; doesn't mean that suddenly everybody has to become a cybersecurity expert. If we think about seniors, what do we see very often with them? They struggle with technology. That is something—I almost want to say, it is a fact. Two very concrete examples of that. Let's take a device update, and there are some new features, or there are some new security functions that are going to be pushed on the device. That's often perceived as a burden by the senior. Because if something suddenly changes—a button that always used to be at the top right corner of a screen suddenly has moved to the bottom—they can get more easily lost. And secondly, what we see with seniors as well: There's a lot of digital clutter.

Some concrete tips of how can we minimize risks is, firstly, support or embrace the reality of their tech literacy. For example, enable automatic updates whenever that is possible, and talk through some of the rules of what you should never do. For example, if they suddenly are a bit in panic and something has changed in the layout of their device, they can call that trusted circle. But some other rules as well that you can talk through with them is don't let a stranger remotely into your computer or don't interact with telemarketers. And something very small but very practical as well regarding that tech literacy is bookmark, or add under the favorites of those people, their bank logins or other crucial pages because it avoids them of clicking on ads or clicking on links. Because if they have to do something on their bank, then they just always go back to that same bookmark, that same place where it has always been, and you can bypass a lot of phishing attacks.

And then secondly, that digital clutter that I mentioned, an example of one of our customers; we often see a lot of email accounts. With one individual, we had a scenario where he had 15 different email addresses. And what happened was, every time he forgot a password, he actually just created a new email address. But there were so many accounts, and everything was intertwined where we just, step-by-step, helped consolidate all those accounts, remove and close everything that was unused, and really close as much as possible any open doors that there might be. As a practical tip, what you can do is just sit down and talk about, "Hey, how many emails do you have? Let's look at your phone. Are there still a lot of apps or accounts that you don't use anymore? And let's just close them together." But especially the email, I would underline as, just ask that question and help them close or delete any accounts that they don't need or use anymore.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

I want to go back and make sure that people heard about the bookmarking. If someone is using their laptop or their phone, being able to bookmark in the browser the actual appropriate login for financial institutions is very important. Because then the rule is you never click on a link in an email. If you need to do something, you just go to that, or you go to the app—one or the other—but you don't click on anything.

We know sometimes that scammers really thrive on information about their potential victims. I would say all the time. They're really looking for information, trying to mine for data. Are there ways that we can deprive these bad actors of that information?

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely. We can make it a lot more difficult for them because scammers are researchers. They will look and dig very deep for details that can make it sound as if they are inside of your life and to help create that urgency. For example, obituaries is one of the big ones that we typically see where the whole family lineage is lined out in one article. But also, for example, public visibility in case of large donations, whether that is interviews that you do, articles that you do. Think about: Is this information really still necessary to live online? And if not, take it down. In the case of the obituaries, you can mail the company or the instance that has put it online, ask them to remove it, and they will do it—same can go as well for maybe specific outdated articles, especially if they're a couple of years old, think about, do you really still want that to live online?

Another idea of depriving information is a lot of information is being gathered as a bad actor is in conversation with their victim. An idea that we also like to give individuals is a permission to pause. Which means that, whenever they are in a conversation—when there is this unsolicited request or some alarm bells go off—give them some scripts. And those scripts can, for example, be: "I don't handle any unexpected money or account requests in real time. Please send it to me in writing, and I will verify through my normal process." It gives them a moment to pause and to think about, "Should I share this information?" Another script that you can give them is, "My security team typically handles this. I will forward this to them now." It gives them really that moment to take a breath and to not disclose any information that they, maybe in the flow of the moment, would just hand over to an individual.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Yeah, that's very powerful, this concept of a pause script. Just giving folks the words, making it easy for them to say, "We're going to hit the pause button. I don't respond to urgent requests."

Charlotte Edwards:    

Yes.

Oscarlyn Elder:

"I've got a team who helps me." Just practicing that, having it readily available is really important. I really love that idea. As I think about the prevention strategies that you've given us, what we know is, nothing is foolproof. If a scammer gets through all the defenses that we've put up to protect our loved one, what do we do?

Charlotte Edwards:    

I'm going to hit it off with a very practical response, and that practical response is act quick: treat it as an incident, not as a private embarrassment. And immediately notify banks, credit card issuers, insurers, lawyers, but also immediately notify the family. Wealth is very often tied into family businesses, into family funds, and by notifying the family, you could help prevent it snowballing into that generational wealth as well. Another tip I want to share specifically for the family: Shame is what makes people go quiet. We see the number of complaints rising, but with 100% certainty, we know that those are not all of the numbers because there are a lot of people that just don't report it because there is that shame. The family's response should be calm, should be supportive, where the underlying message is, "We are going to handle this together."

Some other specific tips as well, one is for identity theft. If you are a victim of identity theft, you can file an identity theft report with the government. Specifically for financial fraud, it's something very basic as well, but we immediately give the recommendation of doing credit freezes with all of the three credit bureaus. It is free. It takes five minutes per bureau. Those are all very practical tips. But equally, and if not more important, also make sure that there is emotional support. That emotional support can be from a counselor, that could also be from a family member. But it is important to let them know that scams are, most of the time, so sophisticated that anyone could fall for them. Because the worst thing that could happen is that a senior is too worried about being perceived as, "I'm going to lose my independence," and does not speak up.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

That is very powerful, Charlotte. Shame makes people go quiet. And if something happens, move quickly, treat it as an incident, but not an embarrassment. We're all in this together. We don't want people to feel alone. In all of these strategies, I can see there's a real need for help and support, not just for our seniors, but also for those who care about them, the trusted circle. We'll talk about that and wrap up our conversation with Charlotte in just a moment.

[MUSIC BREAK]

Oscarlyn Elder:

Charlotte, so much of what we've talked about today comes down to really knowing the details about a client's life and what might make them vulnerable. For wealth advisors, that's part of our job. How can working with a wealth advisor help protect a senior from scam attempts?

Charlotte Edwards:    

A wealth advisor is really crucial because they see the whole picture and they can notice when something is out of character. That could be an unusual withdrawal, that could be some sudden urgency, or that could be that big new investment opportunity that really doesn't fit the client. The wealth advisor is really uniquely positioned as a calm, neutral third party, even when family conversations might get sensitive. We, at Cyberwolf, we've witnessed firsthand that crucial role of a wealth advisor. Where it could be that we are looped in proactively by the wealth advisor because they brought up cybersecurity with the family, because they think it is in the best interest of the individual or of the family, just to have an open conversation and to see what they think about it.

A very concrete example that we had with the wealth advisor was, he thought we could help a family, specifically an elder woman. But he first put us in contact with the daughter because the wealth advisor knew that the elder woman would first look at her daughter for that technical approval. There as well, you saw that the wealth advisor put on a process because he knew the client very well, and he knew to just make sure that the right people were having the right conversations.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Charlotte, we all have a role to play in protecting ourselves and the people that we care about. Before we wrap up—as you well know because you've been on I've Been Meaning To Do That before—we have a tradition of asking: What's the one thing that you've been meaning to do that you haven't done yet and that you're willing to commit to doing now with our audience listening? Now, you were talking about digital clutter a little earlier, and we'd love to have an update from you, because last time you were with us, you talked about having 46,000 photos on your camera roll that you had been meaning to clean up. Did you do that?

Charlotte Edwards:    

The proof is in the pudding—digital clutter is something of all generations. But as an update, I did do that, but I needed the help of an app to actually do it. It made the process for me a whole lot easier. Now I'm down from 46,000 to 18,000. And the fun thing was that I got to look back on some really fun memories while I was doing it.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Well, that's fantastic. Going from 46,000 to 18,000 must have been a fun journey.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Absolutely. Especially the family pictures where you take the same picture.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

Yes, five times.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Yeah, eight times, but slightly different because you would have that perfect angle. But then looking back at them, you actually see the first picture that you took typically is actually the best one. But yes, very fun memories to look back on.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

My daughter went through a phase where she was taking selfies on the way to school. We have days of 200 pictures of her making different faces, all from the same angles. I imagine eventually I'll have to declutter that and get it down to the five, maybe, that I want to keep from each series. But I'm glad that you were able to check off something from your to-do list. That is wonderful. Charlotte, thank you again for joining me today. We are really appreciative of your expertise and your care for our clients and our listeners. We really value the insight that you bring to us.

Charlotte Edwards:    

Thank you for inviting me back to the podcast, Oscarlyn. It's an important conversation. And thank you as well for building the platform to have this discussion and to openly share information.

Oscarlyn Elder:          

And listeners, I want to thank you as well. If you liked this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast, and tell friends and family about it. I also invite you to listen to the new podcast from Truist Securities, Navigating Beyond the Expected, at Truist.com/beyondpodcast. If you have a question for me or a suggestion for this podcast, email me at dothat@truist.com. I'll be back soon for another episode of I've Been Meaning To Do That—the podcast that gets you moving toward fulfilling your purpose and achieving your financial goals. Talk to you soon.

Speaker 3:     

Oscarlyn Elder is an investment advisor representative, Truist Advisory Services, Inc. Any comments or references to taxes herein are informational only. Truist and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your individual tax or legal professional before taking any action that may have tax or legal consequences.

Cyberwolf is an independent, third-party service provider and is not affiliated with Truist Financial Corporation, nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, TFC. TFC teammates may refer clients to Cyberwolf. However, TFC makes no representation as to the qualities, effectiveness, and/or terms and conditions of any services provided by Cyberwolf, and TFC clients are responsible for conducting their own due diligence regarding Cyberwolf services. Neither TFC nor its employees receive compensation in connection with client referrals to Cyberwolf.