Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) recently reintroduced a measure designed to help identify, report and stop senior financial abuse.
The lawmakers said the Senior Safe Act encourages individuals and financial institutions to report suspected instances of fraud and elder financial abuse while also incentivizing firms to train employees to identify and stop financial fraud.
“Americans lose billions of dollars each year to financial fraud, and seniors are a top target,” Sinema said. “These financial crimes devastate their bank accounts and often go unreported. Seniors deserve to retire with dignity, and they shouldn’t have to worry that their hard-earned savings are at risk of fraud. This bill is a commonsense solution to help identify, report and stop financial abuse of Arizona seniors.”
The legislators said the bill helps law enforcement track down financial criminals who target seniors by enabling banks, credit unions, investment advisors, broker-dealers and other financial service providers to better communicate with agencies when they suspect exploitation.
“Maine has the most elderly population in the nation, a demographic that we have seen is particularly vulnerable to these vicious fraud schemes,” Poliquin said. “We need to make sure that our seniors are provided the help and protections against these fraud perpetrators, who are estimated to cost our seniors nearly $3 billion annually through illegal financial abuses.”
It is estimated, according to recent studies, that nearly 20 percent of the nation’s seniors may be a target of financial fraud or abuse, even when financial institutions suspect abuse, the abuse may go unpunished. Current laws lack the necessary flexibility to allow financial institutions to report suspected abuse to authorities, officials said.