Gillibrand Urges FTC To Protect Seniors From Targeted Financial Scams

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the heels of the Senate Aging Committee holding a hearing today on “Frauds, Scams, and COVID-19: How Con Artists Have Targeted Older Americans During the Pandemic,” U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Special Committee on Aging, renewed her support for the bipartisan Senior Financial Empowerment Act.

This bill ensures that seniors and their caregivers have access to critical information and resources regarding financial abuse. As part of Gillibrand’s continued efforts to protect seniors from fraud and targeted financial scams, she recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging the agency to strengthen and standardize senior financial abuse reporting, to help ensure older Americans and their caregivers have access to critical information regarding financial abuse, and to hold financial scammers targeting older Americans accountable.

“In New York State alone, seniors are estimated to lose as much as $1.5 billion a year to financial fraud and abuse. Older Americans should not have to worry about falling prey to these scams, and if they do, they need somewhere to turn,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am steadfastly committed to helping older Americans respond to, report, and prevent costly financial scams — especially as the holiday season approaches. That is why I renewed my call to pass the bipartisan Senior Financial Empowerment Act, legislation that will help address the scourge of fraud and protect New York’s seniors, and pushed the FTC to hold scammers targeting older Americans accountable.”

Millions of seniors across the country are victims of financial scams and abuse every year. Throughout the pandemic, the range of financial scams targeting older adults skyrocketed as public health and economic anxiety grew, capitalizing on people’s interest in COVID treatments and their need for financial help.

In New York State alone, seniors are estimated to lose as much as $1.5 billion per year to financial fraud and abuse. New York is also ranked the 4th highest in the nation for financial loss and number of victims per state among those aged sixty and older. Gillibrand’s call to action aims to provide tactics and strategies for families to use against the threat of fraud, especially as this holiday season approaches.

This bill would standardize and improve the way senior financial abuse is reported, establish a national hotline that would advise seniors on where and how to report fraud, and provide more resources to combat and prevent financial exploitation of seniors. Specifically, this legislation would help protect seniors from financial fraud by doing the following:
Centralizing services for consumer education and data on scams and fraud targeting seniors;
Improving reporting of suspected instances of elder financial abuse;
Educating certain entities regarding elder financial abuse;
Creating a grant program to prevent mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud;
Directing the National Institutes of Health to conduct scientific research on older adults’ increased vulnerability to scams; and
Designating a National Senior Fraud Awareness Week.

This legislation is endorsed by AARP and LeadingAge.
Read the full text of the bill here.
Read the text of the letter to the FTC below:

Dear Chairwoman Khan,

I write to you regarding the rise in financial scams targeting older Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to improve and standardize the way older adult financial abuse is reported. The amount of financial scams targeting older adults skyrocketed as public health and economic anxiety grew. However, this is not something that started with the pandemic. It is estimated that millions of older adults across the country are victims of financial scams and abuse every year, with scams related to COVID-19 alone costing consumers more than $460 million. In New York State, seniors are estimated to lose as much as $1.5 billion per year to financial fraud and abuse.

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) work is critical in ensuring that older adults and their caregivers have access to crucial information regarding financial abuse and in improving the way older adult financial abuse is reported. As I work with Senator Collins and my colleagues in Congress to pass the Senior Financial Empowerment Act and to help protect older Americans from harmful scams and fraud, I would appreciate your input on the following questions:

In what ways is the FTC working to ensure that as many senior fraud crimes as possible get shared with proper authorities?

How would collaboration between the FTC and various agencies, including the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Postmaster General, the Chief Postal Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, improve scam reporting and the delivery of services for consumer education on fraud targeting seniors?

How is the FTC working to ensure that financial institutions are aware of state and local reporting laws regarding senior fraud?

How is the FTC working to ensure each individual senior with the tools they need to recognize fraud?

We look forward to your response to these questions by October 8th, 2021. We need to protect our loved ones against fraud and we can do so by working to improve scam reporting and provide educational resources to older adults and their caregivers. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Press release from Kirsten Gillibrand’s press office.

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