Last week, Senator Rick Scott, chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, along with bipartisan committee members Senators Mark Kelly, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Ashley Moody, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran. The letter urges these agencies to prioritize investigations aimed at dismantling foreign networks responsible for international financial scams targeting older Americans.
The letter follows the release of the Aging Committee’s Annual Fraud Report which highlights financial threats facing America’s aging population and offers resources for prevention and reporting. As part of awareness efforts, Chairman Scott and Senator Kelly led an initiative to designate March 6, 2025 as National Slam the Scam Day.
In their correspondence, they noted that elder fraud complaints to the FBI increased by 14% in 2023 with losses rising by about 11%. These scams often involve international perpetrators requiring a coordinated federal response.
"The Secret Service plays a critical role in protecting Americans from financial crimes," they wrote. They also emphasized the Department of State's ability to engage internationally and the Department of the Treasury's role in disrupting foreign scams through sanctions enforcement.
They acknowledged recent actions by OFAC against Burma's Karen National Army but stressed more needs to be done through interagency collaboration. The senators expressed alarm over scam labor camps abroad where individuals are trafficked or coerced into running fraud operations targeting seniors.
The letter calls for enhanced investigative efforts with foreign law enforcement agencies, expanded combat against scam labor camps, strengthened public awareness campaigns for seniors, improved interagency coordination with other federal bodies like the FTC and DOJ, and increased transparency in reporting enforcement efforts to Congress.
"Protecting seniors from fraud is not just a financial issue—it is a matter of public trust and security," they stated while appreciating current agency efforts against financial crimes.
An update on agency steps addressing this issue along with any legislative recommendations is requested by July 30, 2025.
