Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2019

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 512 AN ACT To establish an advisory office within the Bureau of Con- sumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission to prevent fraud targeting seniors, 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 2 † S 512 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Seniors Fraud Preven- 2 tion Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD TAR- 4 GETING SENIORS. 5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY OFFICE.—The 6 Federal Trade Commission shall establish an office within 7 the Bureau of Consumer Protection for the purpose of ad- 8 vising the Commission on the prevention of fraud tar- 9 geting seniors and to assist the Commission with the fol- 10 lowing: 11 (1) OVERSIGHT.—The advisory office shall 12 monitor the market for mail, television, internet, 13 telemarketing, and recorded message telephone call 14 (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘robocall’’) fraud tar- 15 geting seniors and shall coordinate with other rel- 16 evant agencies regarding the requirements of this 17 section. 18 (2) CONSUMER EDUCATION.—The Commission 19 through the advisory office shall, in consultation 20 with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health 21 and Human Services, the Postmaster General, the 22 Chief Postal Inspector for the United States Postal 23 Inspection Service, and other relevant agencies— 24 (A) disseminate to seniors and families and 25 caregivers of seniors general information on 26 3 † S 512 ES mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and 1 robocall fraud targeting seniors, including de- 2 scriptions of the most common fraud schemes; 3 (B) disseminate to seniors and families 4 and caregivers of seniors information on report- 5 ing complaints of fraud targeting seniors either 6 to the national toll-free telephone number estab- 7 lished by the Commission for reporting such 8 complaints, or to the Consumer Sentinel Net- 9 work, operated by the Commission, where such 10 complaints will become immediately available to 11 appropriate law enforcement agencies, including 12 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the at- 13 torneys general of the States; 14 (C) in response to a specific request about 15 a particular entity or individual, provide pub- 16 lically available information of enforcement ac- 17 tion taken by the Commission for mail, tele- 18 vision, internet, telemarketing, and robocall 19 fraud against such entity; and 20 (D) maintain a website to serve as a re- 21 source for information for seniors and families 22 and caregivers of seniors regarding mail, tele- 23 vision, internet, telemarketing, robocall, and 24 other identified fraud targeting seniors. 25 4 † S 512 ES (3) COMPLAINTS.—The Commission through 1 the advisory office shall, in consultation with the At- 2 torney General, establish procedures to— 3 (A) log and acknowledge the receipt of 4 complaints by individuals who believe they have 5 been a victim of mail, television, internet, tele- 6 marketing, and robocall fraud in the Consumer 7 Sentinel Network, and shall make those com- 8 plaints immediately available to Federal, State, 9 and local law enforcement authorities; and 10 (B) provide to individuals described in sub- 11 paragraph (A), and to any other persons, spe- 12 cific and general information on mail, television, 13 internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud, in- 14 cluding descriptions of the most common 15 schemes using such methods of communication. 16 (b) COMMENCEMENT.—The Commission shall com- 17 mence carrying out the requirements of this section not 18 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 19 Act. 20 Passed the Senate November 18, 2020. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 512 AN ACT To establish an advisory office within the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Com- mission to prevent fraud targeting seniors, and for other purposes.