House Passes Baldwin Bill to Counter Crimes Against Seniors

Press Release

The House today passed (335-81) bipartisan legislation authored by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the Senior Financial Empowerment Act (H.R. 3040), to help stop abusive mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors.

Although it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of fraud targeting seniors due to severe under-reporting, millions of senior Americans have fallen victims to financial exploitation, including mail, telemarketing and Internet fraud. The Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups (CWAG) estimates that 35,000 seniors in Wisconsin alone were the victims of financial exploitation in 2009. The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions reports that half of its cases now being investigated include older victims.

According to a 2009 report by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, the annual financial loss by victims of senior financial abuse is estimated to be at least $2.6 billion. In 2007, postal inspectors investigated almost 3,000 mail fraud cases in the U.S. and arrested more than 1,200 mail fraud suspects. Further, the FBI has confirmed that criminals are modifying their targeting techniques to include online scams such as "phishing" and e-mail spamming.

Baldwin's desire to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their caregivers on how to identify and combat fraudulent activity is rooted in personal experience. She explains:

"Around the time that my grandmother turned 90, she asked me to help her sort through her mail and balance her checkbook. First, I was struck by the sheer volume of solicitations she was getting. I was also shocked by how many fly-by-night and "look-alike' charities were writing her monthly. Their pleas for donations looked and sounded legit, but I had my suspicions. So I dug a little deeper.

I was also disturbed by the amount of money my grandmother had been giving to these entities. She believed that those able to do so, ought to be as generous as possible to those in need, but she had no way of determining the legitimacy of the entities that were contacting her.

That experience opened my eyes to the very real exploitation of seniors like my grandmother, through mail, telephone, and Internet fraud. Millions of Americans become victims of similar financial exploitation each year -- and it is not just the isolated and lonely who fall prey to these scams."

Just this spring, the Madison Capital Times reported that an 84-year-old Madison woman was duped out of nearly $3,000 after a phone scammer convinced her that her granddaughter's boyfriend was in a Canadian jail and needed bail money. Madison police reported that she received a phone call from a man who called her "grandma" and told her he was in a Canadian jail after being picked up for drunken driving. To convince the elderly woman, someone posing as a police officer came on the line and convinced her of the need for bail money for her "granddaughter's boyfriend." This elderly woman wired the money and fell victim to a disturbingly common scam.

The Senior Financial Empowerment Act, introduced by Baldwin and co-sponsored by Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC):

* Creates a centralized service for consumer education on mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors;

* Authorizes the Attorney General to award competitive grants to carry out locally-focused mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud prevention and education programs for seniors;
* Establishes a National Senior Fraud Awareness week in May of each year to bring the issue to the public attention it warrants.

"The passage of the Senior Financial Empowerment Act is great news for Wisconsin's older adults." said John Hendrick, Attorney, CWAG Elder Financial Empowerment Project. "Internet and telemarketing fraud are constantly changing but our seniors will be vigilant if we get them the information they need. We applaud Congresswoman Baldwin's work on this issue because we need the tools to stop this epidemic," Hendrick said.
AARP President W. Lee Hammond told a House subcommittee earlier this year: "(This legislation) is another step that encourages a united, bipartisan commitment to protecting older, vulnerable adults from financial abuse and exploitation from various fraudulent and deceptive techniques that undermine their financial security and independence."

"Representative Baldwin is one of the foremost champions of elder justice in Congress," said Robert Blancato, National Coordinator for the non-partisan, 650-member Elder Justice Coalition. "Financial abuse, including the newest form, Internet abuse, costs seniors billions a year and must be addressed. Enacting this bill is one key solution," Blancato said.

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Source