I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4846 
To prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors in the 
United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of the 
enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have on 
seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their caregivers 
about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2012 
Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting 
seniors in the United States, to promote efforts to in-
crease public awareness of the enormous impact that 
mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have on seniors, 
to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their 
caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent 
activity, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior Financial Em-
powerment Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) The proportion of the population of the 
United States age 60 years or older is predicted to 
drastically increase in the next 30 years as more 
than 76,000,000 Baby Boomers approach retirement 
and old age. 
(2) It is estimated that between 500,000 and 
5,000,000 seniors in the United States are abused, 
neglected, or exploited each year. 
(3) Abuse, neglect, and exploitation of seniors 
crosses racial, social class, gender, and geographic 
lines. 
(4) Each year millions of individuals in the 
United States are victims of financial exploitation, 
including mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud. 
Many of those who fall prey to such exploitation are 
seniors. 
(5) It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of 
fraud that targets seniors because cases are severely 
underreported and national statistics on senior fraud 
do not exist. 
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(6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation notes 
that seniors in the United States are less likely to 
report fraud because they do not know to whom to 
report, they are ashamed to have been a victim of 
fraud, or they do not know that they have been a 
victim of fraud. In some cases, a senior who has 
been a victim of fraud may not report the crime be-
cause he or she is concerned that relatives may con-
clude that the senior no longer has the mental ca-
pacity to take care of his or her own financial af-
fairs. 
(7) According to a 2009 report by the MetLife 
Mature Market Institute, the annual financial loss 
by victims of senior financial abuse is estimated to 
be at least $2,600,000,000. 
(8) Perpetrators of mail, telemarketing, and 
Internet fraud frequently target seniors because sen-
iors are often vulnerable and trusting people. 
(9) As victims of such fraudulent schemes, 
many seniors pay a financial cost, having been 
robbed of their hard-earned life savings, and fre-
quently pay an emotional cost, losing their self-re-
spect and dignity. 
(10) Perpetrators of fraud targeting seniors 
often operate outside the United States, reaching 
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their victims through the mail, telephone lines, and 
the Internet. 
(11) The Deceptive Mail Prevention and En-
forcement Act increased the power of the United 
States Postal Service to protect consumers against 
persons who use deceptive mailings, such as those 
featuring games of chance, sweepstakes, skill con-
tests, and facsimile checks. 
(12) During fiscal year 2007, Postal Inspection 
Service analysts prepared more than 27,000 letters 
and informative postcards in response to mail fraud 
complaints. During that same year, postal inspectors 
investigated 2,909 mail fraud cases in the United 
States and arrested 1,236 mail fraud suspects, of 
whom 1,118 were convicted. Postal inspectors also 
reported 162 telemarketing fraud investigations, 
with 83 arrests and 61 convictions resulting from 
such investigations. 
(13) In 2000, the United States Senate Special 
Committee on Aging reported that consumers lose 
approximately $40,000,000,000 each year to tele-
marketing fraud, and estimated that approximately 
10 percent of the Nation’s 14,000 telemarketing 
firms were fraudulent. Some researchers estimate 
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that only one in 10,000 fraud victims reports the 
crime to the authorities. 
(14) A 2003 report by AARP found that, 
though the crime of telemarketing fraud is grossly 
underreported among seniors who have been victims 
of such fraud, seniors who are properly counseled by 
trained peer volunteers are less likely to fall victim 
to fraudulent practices. 
(15) The Federal Bureau of Investigation re-
ports that the threat of fraud to seniors is growing 
and changing. This is largely due to the fact that 
many younger Baby Boomers have considerable 
computer skills and criminals have responded by tar-
geting seniors through online scams like phishing 
and email spamming, in addition to traditional tele-
phone calls and mass mailings. 
(16) The Internet Crime Complaint Center 
(hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as ‘‘IC3’’) 
is a partnership between the National White Collar 
Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion that serves as a vehicle to receive, develop, and 
refer criminal complaints regarding cybercrime. The 
IC3 processed more than 219,553 complaints of 
Internet crime in 2007. From these submissions, the 
IC3 referred 90,008 complaints of Internet crime, 
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representing a total dollar loss of $239,090,000, to 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies 
in the United States for further consideration. 
(17) Consumer awareness is the best protection 
from fraud. 
SEC. 3. CENTRALIZED SERVICE FOR CONSUMER EDU-
CATION ON MAIL, TELEMARKETING, AND 
INTERNET FRAUD TARGETING SENIORS. 
(a) CENTRALIZED SERVICE.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Federal Trade Com-
mission, after consultation with the Attorney Gen-
eral, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
the Postmaster General, the Chief Postal Inspector 
for the United States Postal Inspection Service, and 
the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection, shall— 
(A) periodically disseminate to seniors, and 
families and caregivers of seniors, general infor-
mation on mail, telemarketing, and Internet 
fraud targeting seniors, including descriptions 
of the most common fraud schemes; 
(B) periodically disseminate to seniors, and 
families and caregivers of seniors, information 
on methods available to report fraud targeting 
seniors, such as— 
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(i) referring complaints to law en-
forcement agencies, including the Director 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 
State attorneys general; and 
(ii) calling a national toll-free tele-
phone number established by the Federal 
Trade Commission for reporting mail, tele-
marketing, and Internet fraud; 
(C) in response to a specific request by a 
party to the Federal Trade Commission inquir-
ing about any history of fraud committed by a 
particular entity or individual, provide to such 
party any publically available information on 
any record of law enforcement action for fraud 
against such entity or individual— 
(i) by the Federal Trade Commission; 
and 
(ii) by any other agency that reports 
such actions to the Federal Trade Commis-
sion; and 
(D) maintain a Web site to serve as a re-
source for information for seniors, and families 
and caregivers of seniors, regarding mail, tele-
marketing, and Internet fraud targeting sen-
iors. 
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(2) PROCEDURES AND COMMENCEMENT.—The 
Federal Trade Commission shall establish and im-
plement procedures to carry out the requirements of 
paragraph (1), including procedures— 
(A) with respect to the frequency and 
mode of dissemination of information under 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph; 
and 
(B) that provide for the implementation of 
the requirements of such paragraph not later 
than one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 
2017. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PREVENT MAIL, TELEMARKETING, AND 
INTERNET FRAUD. 
(a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the 
availability of funds authorized to be appropriated under 
this section, the Attorney General, after consultation with 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Post-
master General, the Chief Postal Inspector for the United 
States Postal Inspection Service, and the Director of the 
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, shall establish 
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