[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 337 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 337
To establish a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Council.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 22, 2021
Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Council.
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 ``Stop Senior Scams Act''.
SEC. 2. SENIOR SCAMS PREVENTION ADVISORY GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a Senior Scams Prevention
Advisory Group (referred to in this Act 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 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) for the Federal Trade Commission, in relevant
years, information on--
``(i) the newly created materials,
guidance, or recommendations of the Senior
Scams Prevention Advisory Group established
under section 2 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 Act, and the amendments made by this Act,
ceases to be effective on the date that is 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act.
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