McSally Joins Senators Collins, Casey in Requesting Information on the Elder Justice Coordinating Council's Work to Fight the Social Security Scam

Statement

U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) joined Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA) on a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in his role as the chair of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC), requesting more information about the steps the EJCC has taken to coordinate federal efforts to protect Americans, especially seniors, from the Social Security scam. The letter was signed by 13 members of the Aging Committee.

"The Senate Special Committee on Aging is committed to preventing more Americans, particularly seniors, from being targeted by this ruthless scam. We urge the EJCC to take a leading role in this effort," the Senators wrote. "The Committee has a long history of fighting financial fraud targeting seniors and their families. We expect the relevant federal agencies to share this commitment and take actions to protect older adults from this scam."

The Senators continued, "Effectively combatting the Social Security scam will take a government-wide response, and it is imperative that the EJCC take a leading role in coordinating this response."

The Social Security scam generally involves criminals impersonating Social Security staff and calling victims to fraudulently take money from them or obtain their personally identifiable information. In one iteration of this scam, victims are told that their Social Security number has been suspended and that there is a warrant for their arrest. The fraudsters claim they need additional information from victims to verify their identity.

In addition to Senators McSally, Collins, and Casey, the letter to the EJCC was signed by Senators Doug Jones (D-AL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Burr (R-NC), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).

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