Ted Deutch, Vern Buchanan Continue Their Efforts to Crack Down on Fraud Against Seniors

This week, two Florida congressmen have brought back their proposal battling fraud against seniors. 

Back in 2013, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., to introduce the “Seniors Fraud Prevention Act” which increases the role of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in monitoring and offering response systems for when seniors are damaged by fraud. They’ve been pushing the bill since then and brought it back this week with U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., also behind it. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have been the Senate champions of the bill, a role they are continuing in this Congress. 

"Scams set up specifically to go after American seniors and their hard-earned money are particularly despicable," Deutch said on Wednesday. "For the millions of American seniors, many of whom live on fixed incomes, they should not have to worry about losing everything in their bank accounts because of extremely deceptive scams. They should be able to depend on their government and law enforcement to protect their financial security from fraud and scams."

"I’m pleased to be working with Congressmen Deutch and Welch on this important bipartisan measure to protect America’s seniors from fraud," Congressman Buchanan said. "We must do everything we can to safeguard the savings and dignity of Americans as they enter their golden years against those who try to target them."

“Every day, in Vermont and across this country, vulnerable seniors are being ripped off by scam artists,” Welch said. “It’s not uncommon for their victims to lose their life’s savings. Our bill would give the FTC the resources it needs to alert seniors of fraudulent schemes and help stop these criminals in their tracks.”

Estimates show that fraud against senior citizens can cost more than $40 billion a year.