Capito Announces Support for Bipartisan Senior$afe Act of 2017

Press Release

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) this week co-sponsored the bipartisan Senior$afe Act of 2017. The bill, which was introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), would put in place a commonsense plan to help protect seniors from financial exploitation and fraud by providing support to regulators, financial institutions and legal organizations to educate their employees about how to identify and prevent financial exploitation of older Americans.

According to the GAO, financial fraud targeting older Americans is a growing epidemic that costs seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually. These scams range from the "Jamaican Lottery Scam," to the IRS impersonation scam, and as recently highlighted in a Senate Aging Committee hearing, the financial exploitation of seniors through guardianships.

"It has always been a priority of mine to protect all West Virginians from fraud, including our seniors," said Senator Capito. "After learning about the success of the Senior$afe program in Maine, I am convinced this program should be expanded nationwide to help seniors avoid fraud and financial exploitation."

The Senior$afe Act is based on Maine's innovative Senior$afe program, a collaborative effort by Maine's regulators, financial institutions and legal organizations to educate bank and credit union employees on how to identify and help stop financial exploitation of older Mainers.

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