[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1215 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1215
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 19, 2021
Received
May 24, 2022
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish an office within the Federal Trade Commission and an
outside advisory group to prevent fraud targeting seniors and to direct
the Commission to include additional information in an annual report to
Congress on fraud targeting seniors, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fraud and Scam
Reduction Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--PREVENTING CONSUMER SCAMS DIRECTED AT SENIORS
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group.
TITLE II--SENIOR FRAUD ADVISORY OFFICE
Sec. 201. Short title.
Sec. 202. Office for the Prevention of Fraud Targeting Seniors.
TITLE III--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
Sec. 301. Budgetary effects.
TITLE I--PREVENTING CONSUMER SCAMS DIRECTED AT SENIORS
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Stop Senior Scams Act''.
SEC. 102. SENIOR SCAMS PREVENTION ADVISORY GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a Senior Scams Prevention
Advisory Group (referred to in this title as the ``Advisory Group'').
(b) Members.--The Advisory Group shall be composed of stakeholders
such as the following individuals or the designees of those
individuals:
(1) The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.
(2) The Secretary of the Treasury.
(3) The Attorney General.
(4) The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
(5) Representatives from each of the following sectors,
including trade associations, to be selected by the Federal
Trade Commission:
(A) Retail.
(B) Gift cards.
(C) Telecommunications.
(D) Wire-transfer services.
(E) Senior peer advocates.
(F) Consumer advocacy organizations with efforts
focused on preventing seniors from becoming the victims
of scams.
(G) Financial services, including institutions that
engage in digital currency.
(H) Prepaid cards.
(6) A member of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System.
(7) A prudential regulator, as defined in section 1002 of
the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481).
(8) The Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network.
(9) Any other Federal, State, or local agency, industry
representative, consumer advocate, or entity, as determined by
the Federal Trade Commission.
(c) No Compensation for Members.--A member of the Advisory Group
shall serve without compensation in addition to any compensation
received for the service of the member as an officer or employee of the
United States, if applicable.
(d) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Advisory Group shall--
(A) collect information on the existence, use, and
success of educational materials and programs for
retailers, financial services, and wire-transfer
companies, which--
(i) may be used as a guide to educate
employees on how to identify and prevent scams
that affect seniors; and
(ii) include--
(I) useful information for
retailers, financial services, and wire
transfer companies for the purpose
described in clause (i);
(II) training for employees on ways
to identify and prevent senior scams;
(III) best practices for keeping
employees up to date on current scams;
(IV) the most effective signage and
placement in retail locations to warn
seniors about scammers' use of gift
cards, prepaid cards, and wire transfer
services;
(V) suggestions on effective
collaborative community education
campaigns;
(VI) available technology to assist
in identifying possible scams at the
point of sale; and
(VII) other information that would
be helpful to retailers, wire transfer
companies, financial institutions, and
their employees as they work to prevent
fraud affecting seniors; and
(B) based on the findings in subparagraph (A)--
(i) identify inadequacies, omissions, or
deficiencies in those educational materials and
programs for the categories listed in
subparagraph (A) and their execution in
reaching employees to protect older adults; and
(ii) create model materials, best practices
guidance, or recommendations to fill those
inadequacies, omissions, or deficiencies that
may be used by industry and others to help
protect older adults from scams.
(2) Encouraged use.--The Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission shall--
(A) make the materials or guidance created by the
Federal Trade Commission described in paragraph (1)
publicly available; and
(B) encourage the use and distribution of the
materials created under this subsection to prevent
scams affecting seniors by governmental agencies and
the private sector.
(e) Reports.--Section 101(c)(2) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and
Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21711(c)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)(iv), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) with respect to the report by the Federal
Trade Commission, in relevant years, including
information on--
``(i) the newly created materials,
guidance, or recommendations of the Senior
Scams Prevention Advisory Group established
under section 102 of the Stop Senior Scams Act
and any relevant views or considerations made
by members of the Advisory Group that were not
included in the Advisory Group's model
materials or considered an official
recommendation by the Advisory Group;
``(ii) the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory
Group's findings about senior scams and
industry educational materials and programs;
and
``(iii) any recommendations on ways
stakeholders can continue to work together to
reduce scams affecting seniors.''.
(f) Termination.--This title, and the amendments made by this
title, ceases to be effective on the date that is 5 years after the
date of enactment of this Act.
TITLE II--SENIOR FRAUD ADVISORY OFFICE
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of
2021''.
SEC. 202. OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD TARGETING SENIORS.
(a) Establishment of Advisory Office.--The Federal Trade Commission
shall establish an office within the Bureau of Consumer Protection for
the purpose of advising the Commission on the prevention of fraud
targeting seniors and to assist the Commission with the following:
(1) Oversight.--The advisory office shall monitor the
market for mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and
recorded message telephone call (hereinafter referred to as
``robocall'') fraud targeting seniors and shall coordinate with
other relevant agencies regarding the requirements of this
section.
(2) Consumer education.--The Commission through the
advisory office shall, in consultation with the Attorney
General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Postmaster General, the Chief Postal Inspector for the United
States Postal Inspection Service, and other relevant agencies--
(A) disseminate to seniors and families and
caregivers of seniors general information on mail,
television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud
targeting seniors, including descriptions of the most
common fraud schemes;
(B) disseminate to seniors and families and
caregivers of seniors information on reporting
complaints of fraud targeting seniors either to the
national toll-free telephone number established by the
Commission for reporting such complaints, or to the
Consumer Sentinel Network, operated by the Commission,
where such complaints will become immediately available
to appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the attorneys
general of the States;
(C) in response to a specific request about a
particular entity or individual, provide publically
available information of enforcement action taken by
the Commission for mail, television, internet,
telemarketing, and robocall fraud against such entity;
and
(D) maintain a website to serve as a resource for
information for seniors and families and caregivers of
seniors regarding mail, television, internet,
telemarketing, robocall, and other identified fraud
targeting seniors.
(3) Complaints.--The Commission through the advisory office
shall, in consultation with the Attorney General, establish
procedures to--
(A) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints
by individuals who believe they have been a victim of
mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall
fraud in the Consumer Sentinel Network, and shall make
those complaints immediately available to Federal,
State, and local law enforcement authorities; and
(B) provide to individuals described in
subparagraph (A), and to any other persons, specific
and general information on mail, television, internet,
telemarketing, and robocall fraud, including
descriptions of the most common schemes using such
methods of communication.
(b) Commencement.--The Commission shall commence carrying out the
requirements of this section not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
TITLE III--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
SEC. 301. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Passed the House of Representatives April 15, 2021.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.