The initiative s main goal is to coordinate resources to better educate seniors about fraud. A task force of service providers and the Attorney General s Office will use ideas developed during the conference to form a statewide action plan. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, senior citizens are targeted at a higher rate than any other age group in fraud schemes. More than 1,600 complaints were filed with the Attorney General s Office by senior citizens in 1999. Top complaints included home improvement, telemarketing, and sweepstakes.
Seniors make up the most rapidly growing segment of the United State s population.
By 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there will be about 70 million Americans 65 and older - more than twice their number in 1998. Criminal use phones and mailboxes to reach into the pockets of vulnerable seniors - threatening their life savings, Montgomery said. By bringing together local and state agencies that serve seniors, we can add more ammunition to our weapons targeting such criminal conduct. Attorney General Montgomery has created several programs within her Consumer Protection Section that address senior fraud. The telemarketing fraud unit, one of the largest state units of its kind in the country, investigates boiler rooms, files civil lawsuits, and works with county prosecutors to file criminal lawsuits against telemarketing scam artists.