A resolution supporting the designation of May 15, 2020, 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 2D SESSION S. RES. 590 Supporting the designation of May 15, 2020, 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 20, 2020 Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. CASEY, Mr. JONES, Ms. WARREN, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. BRAUN, and Ms. ROSEN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Supporting the designation of May 15, 2020, 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 millions of older adults in the United States (re- ferred to in this preamble as ‘‘seniors’’) are targeted by scams each year, including Social Security impersonation scams and Internal Revenue Service impersonation scams, sweepstakes scams, romance scams, computer tech support scams, grandparent scams, debt scams, VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR590.ATS SR590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 590 ATS home improvement scams, fraudulent investment schemes, and identity theft; 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, in 2020, scammers are exploiting the ongoing coronavirus crisis to prey on seniors through a variety of scams, including economic impact payment scams, test kit scams, contact tracing scams, and work-from-home scams; 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 9,500 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 2019 released by the Federal Trade Commission, people age 60 or older reported losing approximately $445,000,000 to fraud in 2019, with a median loss for victims age 80 or older of $1,600, more than triple the median amount lost by victims between the ages of 50 and 59; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR590.ATS SR590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 590 ATS Whereas senior fraud is underreported by victims due to shame, stigma, and lack of information about where to report fraud; and Whereas May 15, 2020, 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, 2020, 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— 12 (A) preventing the proliferation of scams 13 targeting seniors in the United States; and 14 (B) educating seniors about those scams; 15 (4) encourages— 16 (A) the implementation of policies to pre- 17 vent scams targeting seniors; and 18 (B) the improvement of efforts to protect 19 seniors from those scams; and 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR590.ATS SR590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 590 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 23:20 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR590.ATS SR590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS