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Protecting Seniors From
Fraud Act
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(Enrolled Bill)
--S.3164--
S.3164
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand
An Act
To protect seniors from fraud.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Protecting Seniors From
Fraud Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Older Americans are among the most rapidly
growing segments of our society.
(2) Our Nation's elderly are too frequently the
victims of violent crime, property crime, and consumer and telemarketing
fraud.
(3) The elderly are often targeted and retargeted in
a range of fraudulent schemes.
(4) The TRIAD program, originally sponsored by the
National Sheriffs' Association, International Association of Chiefs of police,
and the American Association of Retired Persons unites sheriffs, police
chiefs, senior volunteers, elder care providers, families, and seniors
to reduce the criminal victimization of the elderly.
(5) Congress should continue to support TRIAD and
similar community partnerships that improve the safety and quality of
life for millions of senior citizens.
(6) There are few other community-based efforts that
forge partnerships to coordinate criminal justice and social service
resources to improve the safety and security of the elderly.
(7) According to the National Consumers League,
telemarketing fraud costs consumers nearly $40,000,000,000 each year.
(8) Senior citizens are often the target of
telemarketing fraud.
(9) Fraudulent telemarketers compile the names of
consumers who are potentially vulnerable to telemarketing fraud into the
so-called `mooch lists'.
(10) It is estimated that 56 percent of the names on
such `mooch lists' are individuals age 50 or older.
(11) The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
Federal Trade Commission have provided resources to assist
private-sector organizations to operate outreach programs to warn senior
citizens whose names appear on confiscated `mooch lists'.
(12) The Administration on Aging was formed, in part,
to provide senior citizens with the resources, information, and
assistance their special circumstances require.
(13) The Administration on Aging has a system in
place to inform senior citizens of the dangers of telemarketing fraud.
(14) Senior citizens need to be warned of the dangers
of telemarketing fraud before they become victims of such fraud.
SEC. 3. SENIOR FRAUD PREVENTION PROGRAM.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General $1,000,000 for each
of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005 for programs for the National
Association of TRIAD.
(b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL- The Comptroller General of
the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness
of the TRIAD program 180 days prior to the expiration of the authorization
under this Act, including an analysis of TRIAD programs and activities;
identification of impediments to the establishment of TRIADs across the
Nation; and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the TRIAD
program.
SEC. 4. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human
Services for Aging, shall provide to the Attorney General of each State
and publicly disseminate in each State, including dissemination to area
agencies on aging, information designed to educate senior citizens and
raise awareness about the dangers of fraud, including telemarketing and
sweepstakes fraud.
(b) INFORMATION- In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) inform senior citizens of the prevalence of
telemarketing and sweepstakes fraud targeted against them;
(2) inform senior citizens how telemarketing and
sweepstakes fraud work;
(3) inform senior citizens how to identify
telemarketing and sweepstakes fraud;
(4) inform senior citizens how to protect themselves
against telemarketing and sweepstakes fraud, including an explanation of
the dangers of providing bank account, credit card, or other financial
or personal information over the telephone to unsolicited callers;
(5) inform senior citizens how to report suspected
attempts at or acts of fraud;
(6) inform senior citizens of their consumer
protection rights under Federal law; and
(7) provide such other information as the Secretary
considers necessary to protect senior citizens against fraudulent
telemarketing and sweepstakes promotions.
(c) MEANS OF DISSEMINATION- The Secretary shall
determine the means to disseminate information under this section. In
making such determination, the Secretary shall consider--
(1) public service announcements;
(2) a printed manual or pamphlet;
(5) telephone outreach to individuals whose names
appear on so-called `mooch lists' confiscated from fraudulent marketers.
(d) PRIORITY- In disseminating information under this
section, the Secretary shall give priority to areas with high incidents of
fraud against senior citizens.
SEC. 5. STUDY OF CRIMES AGAINST SENIORS.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General shall conduct a
study relating to crimes against seniors, in order to assist in developing
new strategies to prevent and otherwise reduce the incidence of those
crimes.
(b) ISSUES ADDRESSED- The study conducted under this
section shall include an analysis of--
(1) the nature and type of crimes perpetrated against
seniors, with special focus on--
(A) the most common types of crimes that affect
seniors;
(B) the nature and extent of telemarketing,
sweepstakes, and repair fraud against seniors; and
(C) the nature and extent of financial and material
fraud targeted at seniors;
(2) the risk factors associated with seniors who have
been victimized;
(3) the manner in which the Federal and State
criminal justice systems respond to crimes against seniors;
(4) the feasibility of States establishing and
maintaining a centralized computer database on the incidence of crimes
against seniors that will promote the uniform identification and
reporting of such crimes;
(5) the effectiveness of damage awards in court
actions and other means by which seniors receive reimbursement and other
damages after fraud has been established; and
(6) other effective ways to prevent or reduce the
occurrence of crimes against seniors.
SEC. 6. INCLUSION OF SENIORS IN NATIONAL CRIME
VICTIMIZATION SURVEY.
Beginning not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, as part of each National Crime Victimization
Survey, the Attorney General shall include statistics relating to--
(1) crimes targeting or disproportionately affecting
seniors;
(2) crime risk factors for seniors, including the
times and locations at which crimes victimizing seniors are most likely
to occur; and
(3) specific characteristics of the victims of crimes
who are seniors, including age, gender, race or ethnicity, and
socioeconomic status.
SEC. 7. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OUTREACH.
It is the sense of Congress that State and local
governments should fully incorporate fraud avoidance information and
programs into programs that provide assistance to the aging.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
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