III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 590 

Supporting the designation of May 15, 2020, as ‘‘National Senior Fraud 

Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of 

fraudulent schemes targeting seniors in the United States, to encourage 

the implementation of policies to prevent those schemes, and to improve 

protections from those schemes for seniors. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2020 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

HAWLEY, Mr. CASEY, Mr. JONES, Ms. WARREN, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. 

SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. BRAUN, and Ms. ROSEN) submitted the 

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the designation of May 15, 2020, as ‘‘National 

Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’ to raise awareness about 

the increasing number of fraudulent schemes targeting 

seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those schemes, and to improve protections from those schemes for seniors. 

Whereas millions of older adults in the United States (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘seniors’’) are targeted by 

scams each year, including Social Security impersonation 

scams and Internal Revenue Service impersonation 

scams, sweepstakes scams, romance scams, computer 

tech support scams, grandparent scams, debt scams, 


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•SRES 590 ATS 

home improvement scams, fraudulent investment 

schemes, and identity theft; 

Whereas other types of fraud perpetrated against seniors include health care fraud, health insurance fraud, counterfeit prescription drug fraud, funeral and cemetery fraud, 

‘‘anti-aging’’ product fraud, telemarketing fraud, and 

internet fraud; 

Whereas, in 2020, scammers are exploiting the ongoing 

coronavirus crisis to prey on seniors through a variety of 

scams, including economic impact payment scams, test 

kit scams, contact tracing scams, and work-from-home 

scams; 

Whereas the Government Accountability Office has estimated 

that seniors lose a staggering $2,900,000,000 each year 

to an ever-growing array of financial exploitation schemes 

and scams; 

Whereas, since 2013, the fraud hotline of the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate has received more than 

9,500 complaints reporting possible scams from individuals in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

Whereas the ease with which criminals contact seniors 

through the internet and telephone increases as more creative schemes emerge; 

Whereas, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data 

Book 2019 released by the Federal Trade Commission, 

people age 60 or older reported losing approximately 

$445,000,000 to fraud in 2019, with a median loss for 

victims age 80 or older of $1,600, more than triple the 

median amount lost by victims between the ages of 50 

and 59; 


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Whereas senior fraud is underreported by victims due to 

shame, stigma, and lack of information about where to 

report fraud; and 

Whereas May 15, 2020, is an appropriate day to establish as 

‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the designation of May 15, 2020, 

3 as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness Day’’; 

4 (2) recognizes National Senior Fraud Aware5 ness Day as an opportunity to raise awareness about 

6 the barrage of scams that individuals age 65 or 

7 older in the United States (referred to in this resolu8 tion as ‘‘seniors’’) face in person, by mail, on the 

9 phone, and online; 

10 (3) recognizes that law enforcement, consumer 

11 protection groups, area agencies on aging, and fi12 nancial institutions all play vital roles in— 

13 (A) preventing the proliferation of scams 

14 targeting seniors in the United States; and 

15 (B) educating seniors about those scams; 

16 (4) encourages— 

17 (A) the implementation of policies to pre18 vent scams targeting seniors; and 

19 (B) the improvement of efforts to protect 

20 seniors from those scams; and 


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1 (5) honors the commitment and dedication of 

2 the individuals and organizations that work tirelessly 

3 to fight against scams targeting seniors. 

Æ 


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