Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2116 To prevent mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud targeting seniors in the United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud have on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 17, 2021 Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To prevent mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud targeting seniors in the United States, to promote efforts to in- crease public awareness of the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud have on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2116 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior Financial Em- 2 powerment Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress makes the following findings: 5 (1) The proportion of the population of the 6 United States that is 60 years of age or older will 7 drastically increase in the next 30 years as more 8 than 76,000,000 baby boomers approach retirement 9 and old age. 10 (2) Each year, anywhere between 500,000 and 11 5,000,000 seniors in the United States are abused, 12 neglected, or exploited. 13 (3) Senior abuse, neglect, and exploitation have 14 no boundaries and cross all racial, social class, gen- 15 der, and geographic lines. 16 (4) Millions of individuals in the United States 17 are victims of financial exploitation, including mail, 18 telemarketing, and internet fraud, each year, and 19 many of the individuals who fall prey to these crimes 20 are seniors. 21 (5) It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of 22 fraud targeting seniors because cases are severely 23 underreported and national statistics on senior fraud 24 do not exist. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2116 IS (6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation notes 1 that a senior may be less likely to report fraud be- 2 cause the senior— 3 (A) does not know to whom to report the 4 fraud; 5 (B) is ashamed to have been a victim of 6 fraud; 7 (C) does not know that the senior has been 8 a victim of fraud; or 9 (D) in some cases, is concerned that rel- 10 atives may come to the conclusion that the sen- 11 ior no longer has the mental capacity to take 12 care of the financial affairs of the senior. 13 (7) According to a 2011 report by the MetLife 14 Mature Market Institute, the annual financial loss 15 by victims of senior financial abuse is estimated to 16 be at least $2,900,000,000. 17 (8) As victims of senior financial abuse, many 18 seniors have been robbed of their hard-earned life 19 savings, and even their homes, and can suffer severe 20 emotional and health-related consequences. 21 (9) Perpetrators of fraud targeting seniors 22 often operate outside the United States, reaching 23 their victims through the mail, telephone lines, and 24 the internet. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2116 IS (10) The Deceptive Mail Prevention and En- 1 forcement Act (Public Law 106–168; 113 Stat. 2 1806) increased the power of the United States 3 Postal Service to protect consumers against persons 4 who use deceptive mailings, such as those featuring 5 games of chance, sweepstakes, skill contests, and 6 facsimile checks. 7 (11) During fiscal year 2007, analysts prepared 8 more than 27,000 letters and informative postcards 9 in response to mail fraud complaints. During that 10 same fiscal year, postal inspectors investigated 2,909 11 mail fraud cases in the United States and arrested 12 1,236 mail fraud suspects, of whom 1,118 were con- 13 victed. Postal inspectors also reported 162 tele- 14 marketing fraud investigations with 83 arrests and 15 61 convictions resulting from the investigations. 16 (12) In 2000, the Special Committee on Aging 17 of the Senate reported that, each year, consumers 18 lose approximately $40,000,000,000 to telemarket- 19 ing fraud and estimated that approximately 10 per- 20 cent of the 14,000 telemarketing firms in the United 21 States were fraudulent. 22 (13) Some researchers estimate that only 1 in 23 10,000 fraud victims reports the crime to the au- 24 thorities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2116 IS (14) A 2003 report by AARP, Inc., found that 1 the crime of telemarketing fraud is grossly under- 2 reported among senior victims, but that individuals 3 who are properly counseled by trained peer volun- 4 teers are less likely to fall victim to fraudulent prac- 5 tices. 6 (15) The Federal Bureau of Investigation re- 7 ports that the threat of fraud to seniors is growing 8 and changing. Many younger baby boomers have 9 considerable computer skills and criminals are modi- 10 fying their targeting techniques by using not only 11 traditional telephone calls and mass mailings, but 12 also online scams like phishing and e-mail spam- 13 ming. 14 (16) The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a 15 partnership between the National White Collar 16 Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investiga- 17 tion that serves as a vehicle to receive, develop, and 18 refer criminal complaints regarding cybercrime. The 19 Internet Crime Complaint Center processed more 20 than 219,553 complaints of internet crime in 2007 21 and, from these submissions, the center referred 22 90,008 complaints of internet crime, representing a 23 total dollar loss of $239,090,000, to Federal, State, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2116 IS and local law enforcement agencies in the United 1 States for further consideration. 2 (17) Consumer awareness is the best protection 3 from fraud. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 7 means the Federal Trade Commission. 8 (2) SENIOR CITIZEN.—The term ‘‘senior cit- 9 izen’’ means an individual who is not younger than 10 65 years of age. 11 SEC. 4. INFORMATION AND CONSUMER EDUCATION ON 12 MAIL, TELEMARKETING, AND INTERNET 13 FRAUD TARGETING SENIOR CITIZENS. 14 (a) CENTRALIZED SERVICE.— 15 (1) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 16 Commission, after consultation with the Attorney 17 General, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 18 ices, the Postmaster General, the Chief Postal In- 19 spector for the United States Postal Inspection 20 Service, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, 21 shall— 22 (A) disseminate to senior citizens and the 23 families and caregivers of the senior citizens in- 24 formation— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2116 IS (i) regarding mail, telemarketing, and 1 internet fraud that targets senior citizens, 2 including descriptions of the most common 3 fraud schemes; and 4 (ii) which shall be— 5 (I) disseminated in a way that is 6 easily accessible and user-friendly to 7 senior citizens; and 8 (II) proactive so as to teach sen- 9 ior citizens about scam and fraud pre- 10 vention through safe and smart finan- 11 cial practices; and 12 (B) with respect to the information de- 13 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II)— 14 (i) update the information regularly to 15 keep pace with the changing nature of 16 criminal activity; and 17 (ii) include— 18 (I) instructions on how to refer a 19 complaint to the appropriate law en- 20 forcement agency; and 21 (II) a national toll-free telephone 22 number, to be established by the Com- 23 mission, which shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2116 IS (aa) have a live individual, 1 rather than an automated serv- 2 ice, available to answer calls from 3 senior citizens who are calling— 4 (AA) to seek advice on 5 where and how to report in- 6 stances of fraud; or 7 (BB) to ask questions 8 about issues relating to 9 scams or fraud of senior 10 citizens; and 11 (bb) be similar to the Fraud 12 Hotline established by the Spe- 13 cial Committee on Aging of the 14 Senate. 15 (2) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—The Commis- 16 sion shall— 17 (A) maintain an internet website that 18 serves as a source of information for senior citi- 19 zens and the families and caregivers of senior 20 citizens regarding the types of fraud described 21 in paragraph (1)(A)(i); 22 (B) work with State law enforcement agen- 23 cies to create a national database that tracks 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2116 IS instances of fraud committed against senior 1 citizens; and 2 (C) in response to a specific request about 3 a particular person, provide publically available 4 information on any record of a civil or criminal 5 law enforcement action taken against the per- 6 son for fraud that targeted senior citizens. 7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 year after 8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 9 shall establish and implement procedures to carry out the 10 requirements of this section. 11 SEC. 5. EDUCATION TO CERTAIN ENTITIES REGARDING FI- 12 NANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF SENIOR CITI- 13 ZENS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, in con- 15 sultation with the appropriate Federal financial institu- 16 tions (as defined in section 8(e)(7)(D) of the Federal De- 17 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818(e)(7)(D))), regu- 18 latory agencies, State agencies, and local agencies, con- 19 vene and provide education to the entities described in 20 subsection (b) regarding the legal obligations of those enti- 21 ties and industry best practices for those entities with re- 22 spect to financial exploitation and neglect of senior citi- 23 zens. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2116 IS (b) COVERED ENTITIES.—An entity described in this 1 subsection is— 2 (1) a depository institution (as defined in sec- 3 tion 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 4 U.S.C. 1813(c))); 5 (2) a credit office; 6 (3) a remittance transfer provider (as defined 7 in section 920(g) of the Electronic Fund Transfer 8 Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o–1(g))); 9 (4) a person who distributes general-use pre- 10 paid cards (as defined in section 915(a)(2) of the 11 Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693l– 12 1(a)(2))); and 13 (5) any individual who— 14 (A) is employed by a financial institution; 15 (B) has access to the financial records of 16 senior citizens; and 17 (C) may be able to identify instances of 18 elder financial abuse because of discrepancies in 19 those financial records. 20 (c) REQUIRED TRAINING.—A State agency may not 21 receive Federal funds under this Act unless the agency 22 ensures that the entities described in subsection (b) in that 23 State receive appropriate training that improves— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2116 IS (1) the ability of the entities to recognize evi- 1 dence of financial exploitation and neglect of senior 2 citizens; and 3 (2) the understanding of the entities of the re- 4 porting requirements in that State with respect to fi- 5 nancial exploitation and neglect of senior citizens. 6 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 year after 7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 8 shall establish and implement procedures to carry out the 9 requirements of this section. 10 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM TO PREVENT MAIL, TELE- 11 MARKETING, AND INTERNET FRAUD AND FOR 12 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON SENIOR CITIZENS’ 13 INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO SCAMS. 14 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.— 15 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General 16 may award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 17 entities to carry out fraud prevention activities de- 18 signed to protect senior citizens. 19 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of the 20 grant program, an eligible entity is any State attor- 21 ney general, State or local law enforcement agency, 22 senior center, or other State or local nonprofit orga- 23 nization that provides assistance to senior citizens. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2116 IS (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 1 subsection, the Attorney General shall give priority 2 to an eligible entity that has established a public-pri- 3 vate partnership with a computer or software com- 4 pany that is focused on developing tools to enhance 5 internet scam prevention. 6 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the At- 8 torney General to carry out this subsection 9 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 10 2026. 11 (b) RESEARCH.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 13 Institutes of Health shall conduct scientific research 14 related to the increased vulnerability of senior citi- 15 zens to scams and fraud due to age-related health 16 and neurological conditions. 17 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—No additional 18 amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry 19 out this subsection. Amounts to carry out this sub- 20 section shall be derived from amounts not specifi- 21 cally appropriated to carry out this subsection. 22 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NATIONAL SENIOR FRAUD 23 AWARENESS WEEK. 24 It is the sense of Congress that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2116 IS (1) there is a need to increase awareness of 1 fraud targeting senior citizens; 2 (2) a week in March of ea [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]