Regulators, financial institutions and legal organizations would be given new protections and tools to prevent the financial exploitation of seniors under bipartisan legislation supported by U.S. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).
The Senior$afe Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), was designed to curb the estimated $2.9 billion in losses that result from financial exploitation of seniors each year.
“It has always been a priority of mine to protect all West Virginians from fraud, including our seniors,” Capito said. “After learning about the success of the Senior$afe program in Maine, I am convinced this program should be expanded nationwide to help seniors avoid fraud and financial exploitation.”
Based on the Senior$afe program in Maine, the legislation was designed to address bank privacy laws that can prohibit financial institutions from reporting suspected fraud against seniors.
The bill would encourage financial institutions, investment advisers, broker-dealers and insurance companies to report suspected fraud. The bill would also shield them from lawsuits arising from good faith reports made to the proper authorities by well-trained employees.
“Protecting seniors from financial exploitation and fraud is one of the top priorities of the Aging Committee,” Collins said. “One factor is common to all the scams the Aging Committee has investigated — the fraudsters need to gain the trust and active cooperation of their victims. Without this, their schemes would fail. I am very pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation, based on Maine’s innovative Senior$afe program, that will empower and encourage our financial service representatives to identify warning signs of common scams and help stop financial fraud targeting our seniors.”