A resolution supporting the designation of May 15, 2019, as "National Senior Fraud Awareness Day" to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent schemes targeting seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those schemes, and to improve protections from those schemes for seniors.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 210 Supporting the designation of May 15, 2019, as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent schemes targeting seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those schemes, and to improve protections from those schemes for seniors. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2019 Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. JONES, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. MCSALLY, Ms. WARREN, and Ms. SINEMA) sub- mitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Supporting the designation of May 15, 2019, as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent schemes targeting seniors in the United States, to encourage the implemen- tation of policies to prevent those schemes, and to im- prove protections from those schemes for seniors. Whereas, in 2035, there will be an estimated 78,000,000 in- dividuals age 65 or older in the United States (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘seniors’’), compared to an esti- mated 76,700,000 individuals under the age of 18; Whereas senior fraud is a growing concern as millions of sen- iors in the United States are targeted by scams each VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\SR210.ATS SR210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 210 ATS year, including Internal Revenue Service impersonation scams, identify theft or identity fraud involving Social Se- curity benefits and other identity theft, sweepstakes and lottery scams, grandparent scams, computer tech support scams, romance scams, work-at-home scams, charity scams, home improvement scams, and fraudulent invest- ment schemes; Whereas other types of fraud perpetrated against seniors in- clude health care fraud, health insurance fraud, counter- feit prescription drug fraud, funeral and cemetery fraud, ‘‘anti-aging’’ product fraud, telemarketing fraud, and internet fraud; Whereas the Government Accountability Office has estimated that seniors lose a staggering $2,900,000,000 each year to an ever-growing array of financial exploitation schemes and scams; Whereas, since 2013, the fraud hotline of the Special Com- mittee on Aging of the Senate has received more than 8,200 complaints reporting possible scams from individ- uals in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; Whereas the ease with which criminals contact seniors through the internet and telephone increases as more cre- ative schemes emerge; Whereas, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2018, released by the Federal Trade Commission, people age 60 or older were defrauded of approximately $391,000,000 in 2018, with the median loss to defrauded victims age 80 or older averaging $1,700 per person, more than double the average amount lost by victims be- tween the ages of 50 and 59; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\SR210.ATS SR210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 210 ATS Whereas senior fraud is underreported by victims due to em- barrassment and lack of information about where to re- port fraud; and Whereas May 15, 2019, is an appropriate day to establish as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) supports the designation of May 15, 2019, 2 as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’; 3 (2) recognizes National Senior Fraud Aware- 4 ness Day as an opportunity to raise awareness about 5 the barrage of scams that individuals age 65 or 6 older in the United States (referred to in this resolu- 7 tion as ‘‘seniors’’) face in person, by mail, on the 8 phone, and online; 9 (3) recognizes that law enforcement, consumer 10 protection groups, area agencies on aging, and fi- 11 nancial institutions all play vital roles in preventing 12 scams targeting seniors and educating seniors about 13 those scams; 14 (4) encourages implementation of policies to 15 prevent scams targeting seniors and to improve 16 measures to protect seniors from those scams; and 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\SR210.ATS SR210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 210 ATS (5) honors the commitment and dedication of 1 the individuals and organizations that work tirelessly 2 to fight against scams targeting seniors. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\SR210.ATS SR210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS