featuring games of chance, sweepstakes, skill con-
tests, and facsimile checks. 
(11) During fiscal year 2007, 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 convic-
tions resulting from such investigations. 
(12) In 2000, the United States Senate Special 
Committee on Aging reported that, each year, con-
sumers lose approximately $40,000,000,000 to tele-
marketing fraud, and estimated that approximately 
10 percent of the Nation’s 14,000 telemarketing 
firms were fraudulent. Some researchers estimate 
that only one in 10,000 fraud victims reports the 
crime to the authorities. 
(13) A 2003 report by AARP found that the 
crime of telemarketing fraud is grossly under-
reported among senior victims, but that those who 
are properly counseled by trained peer volunteers are 
less likely to fall victim to fraudulent practices. 
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(14) The Federal Bureau of Investigation re-
ports that the threat of fraud to seniors is growing 
and changing. Many younger Baby Boomers have 
considerable computer skills, and criminals are modi-
fying their targeting techniques by using not only 
traditional telephone calls and mass mailings, but 
also 
online 
scams 
like 
phishing 
and 
e-mail 
spamming. 
(15) The IC3 is a partnership between the Na-
tional White Collar Crime Center and the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation that serves as a vehicle to 
receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints re-
garding cyber crime. The IC3 processed more than 
219,553 complaints of Internet crime in 2007. From 
these submissions, the IC3 referred 90,008 com-
plaints of Internet crime, representing a total dollar 
loss of $239,090,000, to Federal, State, and local 
law enforcement agencies in the United States for 
further consideration. 
(16) Consumer awareness is the best protection 
from fraud. 
SEC. 3. ENHANCED SENTENCING PENALTIES BASED ON 
AGE OF VICTIM. 
(a) DIRECTIVE
TO
THE
UNITED
STATES
SEN-
TENCING COMMISSION.—Pursuant to its authority under 
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section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, and in ac-
cordance with this section, the United States Sentencing 
Commission (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’) shall review and, if appropriate, amend the Federal 
sentencing guidelines and policy statements, including sec-
tion 3A1.1 of the Federal sentencing guidelines, to include 
the age of a crime victim, particularly for senior crime 
victims, to ensure such guidelines adequately reflect Con-
gress’ intent that the age of a crime victim is one of the 
criteria for determining whether the application of a sen-
tencing enhancement is appropriate. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section, 
the Commission shall— 
(1) ensure that the Federal sentencing guide-
lines and the policy statements of the Commission 
reflect the serious economic and physical harms as-
sociated with criminal activity targeted at seniors 
due to their particular vulnerability; 
(2) consider providing, in appropriate cir-
cumstances, increased penalties for persons con-
victed of offenses in which the victim was a senior; 
(3) consult with individuals or groups rep-
resenting seniors, law enforcement agencies, victims 
organizations, and the Federal judiciary as part of 
the review described in subsection (a); 
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(4) ensure reasonable consistency with other 
Federal sentencing guidelines and directives; 
(5) account for any aggravating or mitigating 
circumstances that may justify exceptions, including 
circumstances for which the Federal sentencing 
guidelines provide sentencing enhancements based 
on the age of the crime victim; 
(6) make any necessary conforming changes to 
the Federal sentencing guidelines; and 
(7) ensure that the Federal sentencing guide-
lines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing set 
forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States 
Code. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to 
Congress a report on issues relating to the age of crime 
victims, which shall include— 
(1) an explanation of any changes to sentencing 
policy made by the Commission under this section; 
and 
(2) any recommendations of the Commission for 
retention or modification of penalty levels, including 
statutory penalty levels, for offenses involving sen-
iors. 
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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, and the Chief Postal Inspector for the 
United States Postal Inspection Service, shall establish 
and administer a competitive grant program to award 
grants to eligible organizations to carry out mail, tele-
marketing, and Internet fraud prevention education pro-
grams for seniors. 
(b) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—The Attorney Gen-
eral may award grants under this section to State Attor-
neys General, State and local law enforcement agencies 
and groups, senior centers, and other local nonprofit orga-
nizations that provide assistance to seniors, as determined 
by the Attorney General. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2013. 
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATED TO NATIONAL 
SENIOR FRAUD AWARENESS WEEK. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
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(1) there is a need to increase public awareness 
of the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, 
and Internet fraud has on senior citizens in the 
United States; 
(2) a week in the month of May should be des-
ignated as ‘‘National Senior Fraud Awareness 
Week’’; 
(3) the people of the United States should ob-
serve National Senior Fraud Awareness Week with 
appropriate educational activities; and 
(4) the President is encouraged to issue a proc-
lamation supporting increased public awareness of 
the impact of, and the need to prevent, fraud com-
mitted against seniors. 
Æ 
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