Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of 47 state and territory attorneys general, is urging Congress to support the Fraud and Scam Reduction Act (H.R. 1215). The legislation, comprised of the Stop Senior Scam Act and Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2021, will assist stakeholders in training employees to recognize the warning signs of elder fraud and to prevent irreversible damage to elderly victims.

Specifically, the legislation calls for the establishment of the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group. Accountable to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the group will collect data generated by stakeholders such as retailers, financial services and wire-transfer companies to help educate employees on how to identify and prevent scams that target seniors as well as develop training and educational materials for those employees best suited to identify the warning signs of elder fraud.

In addition, the legislation establishes the Office for the Prevention of Fraud Targeting Seniors—housed in the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the FTC. The office will complement the efforts of the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group by:

• Monitoring emerging scams that target seniors through the internet, mail, robocalls, telemarketing and television;
• Disseminating information on common fraud schemes; and
• Sharing information on how to report suspected senior fraud scams to a national fraud hotline and the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network.

In the letter to congressional leaders, the attorneys general write, “As the chief legal officers of our states, we are committed to protecting our seniors from financial exploitation. H.R. 1215 provides much needed education and training for employees most likely to be able to detect and report elder fraud and scams.”