BATON ROUGE, LA – Attorney General Jeff Landry and 46 of his colleagues are making a bipartisan push urging congressional leaders to support the Fraud and Scam Reduction Act. The act, comprised of the Stop Senior Scam Act and Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2021, will strengthen efforts to prevent elder fraud and educate citizens on the various scams being attempted.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the leadership of the Senate Committee on Commerce. Science, and Transportation – Attorney General Landry and his fellow attorneys general note the need for vigilance by industry and government and a comprehensive approach to preventing fraudsters from victimizing vulnerable elders.

“Research shows that Americans aged 65 and older are the prime targets of scams and receive more mail and telephone solicitations than any other age group; what’s more, 1 in 10 elderly Americans falls victim to elder fraud each year,” said Attorney General Landry. “With tactics used by fraudsters constantly evolving, we too must evolve our efforts to protect and educate seniors on the various schemes being used.”

The Fraud and Scam Reduction Act is bipartisan legislation that will provide innovative ways to educate and protect citizens against elder fraud and scams. The legislation will establish the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group that is accountable to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The group will collect data from retailers, financial services, wire-transfer companies, and other stakeholders to educate employees on identifying and preventing scams that target seniors.

The act also establishes the Office for the Prevention of Fraud Targeting Seniors, housed in the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the FTC. The Office will complement the efforts of the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group by: 

• Monitoring emerging scams that target seniors through the internet, mail, robocalls, telemarketing and television;
  
• Disseminating information on common fraud schemes; and
• Sharing information on how to report suspected senior fraud scams to a national fraud hotline and the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network.
  
  

“Protecting seniors should not be a Republican issue or a Democrat issue; it should be something that everyone can come together to do,” concluded Attorney General Landry. “So I hope our elected officials in Washington cast aside their partisan politics to support this important legislation and help protect our seniors.”

Joining Attorney General Landry in the bipartisan letter to Congress are the attorneys general from Florida, New York, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.