The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), has scheduled a hearing for Friday, October 23 at 9:15 am in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Fighting Fraud Against the Elderly, an Update."
Members will continue their examination of ways to better protect seniors to ensure their data is safe from bad actors. As a group, senior citizens are more likely to have caregivers handling or helping with their finances, leaving them particularly vulnerable to scams targeting their identity and finances. For example, money-wiring scams are a certain type of fraud that target seniors - also known as grandparent scams. With more and more consumers of all ages spending increased time online, there is myriad data at the fingertips of criminals around the globe. The subcommittee will review what is being done to protect seniors from these bad actors and how the public and private sectors are working to protect our most vulnerable from predators.
“Identity theft continues to be a real and serious threat facing American families, and its especially harmful for our seniors," said Burgess. “We are interested in learning about the challenges facing seniors and how we can all work together to educate and empower our seniors on the importance of safeguarding their personal information. Consumers of all ages deserve to feel safe online. It is this subcommittee’s responsibility to make sure that happens."
The Majority Memorandum, a witness list, and witness testimony will be available here as they are posted.
