A resolution supporting the designation of May 15, 2023, as "National Senior Fraud Awareness Day" to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent scams targeted at seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those scams from happening, and to improve protections from those scams for seniors.

III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 217 Supporting the designation of May 15, 2023, as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent scams targeted at seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those scams from happening, and to improve protections from those scams for seniors. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2023 Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. SINEMA) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Supporting the designation of May 15, 2023, as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent scams targeted at seniors in the United States, to encourage the implemen- tation of policies to prevent those scams from happening, and to improve protections from those scams for seniors. Whereas millions of individuals age 65 or older (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘seniors’’) in the United States are targeted by scams each year, including vacation scams, Social Security impersonation scams and Internal Rev- enue Service impersonation scams, other government agency impersonation scams, veterans benefits scams, health and benefits scams, sweepstakes scams, romance VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR217.ATS SR217 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 217 ATS scams, computer tech support scams, grandparent and person-in-need scams, debt collection scams, home im- provement scams, fraudulent investment schemes, pet scams, job opportunity scams, and identity theft; Whereas other types of fraud perpetrated against seniors in- clude Medicare impersonation fraud, health care fraud, health insurance fraud, counterfeit prescription drug fraud, funeral and cemetery fraud, ‘‘anti-aging’’ product fraud, telemarketing fraud, charity and disaster scams, internet fraud, and cyberattacks; 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 10,000 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 and scammers employ new tech- nologies, such as artificial intelligence and ‘‘spoofing’’ of caller ID information, to fraudulently gain the trust of seniors; Whereas, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2022 released by the Federal Trade Commission, individuals age 60 or older reported losing around $1,600,000,000 to fraud in 2022, with a median loss for victims age 80 or older of $1,674, more than 3 times the VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR217.ATS SR217 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 217 ATS median amount lost by those victims between the ages of 50 and 59; Whereas senior fraud is underreported by victims due to shame, stigma, and lack of information about where to report fraud; and Whereas May 15, 2023, 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, 2023, 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 (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘seniors’’) in 7 the United States face in person, by mail, on the 8 phone, via text message, and online; 9 (3) recognizes that law enforcement agencies, 10 consumer protection groups, area agencies on aging, 11 and financial 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR217.ATS SR217 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 217 ATS (B) the improvement of efforts to protect 1 seniors from those scams; and 2 (5) honors the commitment and dedication of 3 the individuals and organizations that work tirelessly 4 to fight against scams targeting seniors. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR217.ATS SR217 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS