Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor is joining a coalition of 47 Attorneys General in urging congressional leaders to support the Fraud and Scam Reduction Act. The act, known as H.R. 1215, aims to provide innovative ways to combat the financial exploitation of senior citizens.
Taylor said, “Stopping scams that target our seniors is an important national issue. Congress must act to provide the FTC with the resources it needs to stop these scams.”
The legislation will establish the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group that will be held accountable to the Federal Trade Commission. The act also establishes the Office for the Prevention of Fraud Targeting Seniors, which will complement the efforts of the Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group by monitoring emerging scams that target seniors through the internet, mail, robocalls, telemarketing and television and providing information on how to report senior fraud scams.
Attorney General Taylor said that the most common scams targeting Alaskans right now involve robocallers who pretend to work for the U.S. Marshall Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or Amazon. Taylor cautioned Alaskans to be wary of unexpected phone calls, particularly if the caller demands that you pay them money in an unusual way.
Taylor said, “Scammers will pretend to be a government agency or a legitimate business, and they will try to convince you to provide an immediate payment through gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer. If a phone call seems suspicious, trust your gut. It is probably a scam.”
To read the letter, click here
Attorney General Taylor joined the attorneys general from the following states in signing on to the letter: Florida, New York, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.