WASHINGTON-U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Wednesday announced their bipartisan legislation to crack down on fraud targeted at seniors had passed the Senate.
Schemes targeting seniors include internet fraud, charity scams, predatory home lenders, telemarketing and mail fraud, Ponzi schemes and fraudulent investment plans, prizes and sweepstakes. The Seniors Fraud Prevention Act would help fight scams designed to strip seniors of their assets by helping educate seniors about fraud schemes and improving monitoring and response to fraud complaints, according to a news release from Klobuchar's office.
"A new fraud scheme designed to target seniors appears almost daily, and in many cases, seniors watch their entire life savings disappear in scams that are specifically designed to target their assets," said Klobuchar in a news release. "This bipartisan legislation will improve efforts to combat fraud targeting seniors so we can help ensure all Americans have safety and dignity in their senior years."
The Seniors Fraud Prevention Act would help protect seniors from fraud schemes by strengthening the reporting system to ensure complaints of fraud are handled quickly by the appropriate law enforcement agencies, according to the release. The bill would also require the Federal Trade Commission, the agency responsible for handling consumer complaints, to coordinate with other agencies to monitor the market for fraud schemes targeting seniors.
In addition, the bill would require the FTC to distribute information to seniors, their families, and their caregivers that explain how to recognize fraud schemes and how to contact law enforcement authorities in the event that a senior is targeted.
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Klobuchar and Collins have introduced this bill in the two previous Congresses. In 2016, the legislation passed the Senate Commerce Committee without opposition.
