News Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection – and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) – ranking member of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging – introduced the Senior Scams Prevention Act, S. 3522, to ensure retailers, financial institutions and wire transfer companies have the resources necessary to train employees to help stop financial frauds and scams on seniors.

“Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable consumers in this digital age – mistakenly falling victim to scammers that steal their money, identity and dignity,” said Sen. Moran. “Now more than ever, it is imperative we bring industry leaders together to examine ways and propose actions American businesses can take to help educate the public, specifically senior citizens, on how to identify and avoid these harmful scams.”

"Far too many older Americans have been targeted by scam artists. These criminals threaten legal action against seniors or loved ones if ‘payment’ is not made immediately through a wire transfer or gift card,” said Sen. Casey. “The Senior Scams Prevention Act would help stop a payment before it is ever made so that seniors don’t lose one more penny to a fraud or scam.”

The bipartisan Senior Scams Prevention Act would create a federal advisory council to develop educational materials for retailers, financial institutions and wire transfer companies to use to train employees on how to spot a scam. This legislation is endorsed by Consumers Union, Best Buy, Consumer Federation of America, Green Dot Corp., MoneyGram, National Consumers League, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Target, Walmart and Western Union.

If you or a loved one receives a suspicious call, hang up the phone immediately and contact the Senate Aging Committee’s toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-855-303-9470.   

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