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FEDERALhearing transcript
High Impact

Senate Hearing on Stopping Senior Scams

Original title: STOPPING SENIOR SCAMS

January 1, 2019

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The Frame

What this does

The committee's work informs federal policy and public awareness efforts to combat financial scams that cost American seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Seniors

Seniors are the primary targets of the financial exploitation schemes discussed in the hearing.

AARP

AARP representatives provided testimony and expertise regarding consumer protection and scam prevention.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing to address the prevalence of financial fraud targeting older Americans. The committee released its 2018 'Fraud Book' and discussed the most common scams, including IRS impersonation, robocalls, and grandparent scams.

Key Facts

  • The Senate Special Committee on Aging released its 2018 'Fraud Book' detailing the 10 most prevalent scams reported to its hotline.
  • The IRS impersonation scam has been the most reported scam to the committee's hotline for three consecutive years.
  • American seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion annually to financial exploitation and scams.
  • A recent Department of Justice sweep of elder fraud cases involved over 250 defendants and losses exceeding $500 million.
  • The committee's Fraud Hotline received over 1,400 calls from across the country in 2017.
  • Common scams identified include robocalls, lottery scams, grandparent scams, computer tech support scams, and romance scams.
  • Fraudsters frequently use 'spoofing' technology to make calls appear as if they are coming from the Department of Treasury or local police departments.
  • A 2016 hotline tip led to the arrest of five individuals and the subsequent indictment of ten additional suspects in an IRS impersonation scheme.
  • In Maine, approximately 33,000 seniors experience some form of elder abuse annually.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common scam targeting seniors?
The IRS impersonation scam, where callers pretend to be tax officials demanding immediate payment, has been the most reported scam for three years.
How do scammers make their calls look legitimate?
They use '' technology to manipulate caller ID information so that it displays names like 'Department of Treasury' or local police departments.
What should I do if I suspect a scam?
The committee encourages reporting scams to their Fraud Hotline to help investigators track and stop perpetrators.

Why It Matters

The committee's work informs federal policy and public awareness efforts to combat financial scams that cost American seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Hotline-to-Enforcement Pipeline

The committee demonstrated a direct, successful link between public hotline tips and federal criminal indictments, specifically regarding IRS impersonation scams.

Connected Entities

organizationSpecial Committee on AgingU.S. Senate committee overseeing the hearingMap →
personMary BachChair, AARP Pennsylvania's Consumer Issues Task ForceMap →
personRita and Stephen ShimanWitnesses and victims of a grandparent scamMap →
personSusan M. CollinsChairman of the Special Committee on AgingMap →
organizationDepartment of JusticeAnnounced a nationwide sweep of elder fraud casesMap →
personDoug ShadelState Director, AARP WashingtonMap →
organizationGovernment Accountability OfficeSource of data regarding $2.9 billion in annual lossesMap →
personAdrienne OmanskyFounder, Stop Senior Scams Acting ProgramMap →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy10
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment20
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz15
    Current news / social attention level

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