Sweeping legislation to protect senior citizens from being victimized by telemarketing and other frauds has been introduced in the Senate.
The Seniors Safety Act of 1999 (S-751) directs the U.S. Attorney General to develop and a national database of individuals and companies convicted of various state and federal telemarketing fraud charges at a central location selected by the Federal Trade Commission which the public can use to check on the legitimacy of a telemarketer and report instances of suspected fraud.
It also directs the Attorney General to develop a national hotline for suspected telemarketing frauds; exempts telephone companies from liability for telemarketing fraud committed by their customers; authorizes telephone companies to “discontinue or refuse” to provide telephonic service to fraudulent telemarketers, and doubles the federal penalties that could be imposed on anyone convicted of defrauding a senior citizen.
The Direct Marketing Association generally endorsed the measure, which also directs the Justice Department to study crimes against senior citizens to assist in developing and otherwise reduce the incidence of these crimes.
Richard Barton, the DMA’s senior vice president for Congressional matters, explained the general endorsement saying that “although we’re always interested in strengthening laws against telemarketing and other frauds, we’re still reviewing the bill and expect to work closely with its sponsor, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), to plug any loopholes that may be in it to get it passed and signed into law as quickly as possible.”
Other parts of the bill deal with protecting senior citizens and federal workers from health care fraud; protecting nursing home residents and protecting the rights of elderly crime victims, including safe guards to their pensions.
Leahy, who just turned 59, described the bill, in a stratement as containing “a comprehensive package of proposals developed with the assistance of the Department of Justice that addresses the most prevalent crimes perpetrated against seniors, including proposals to reduce health care fraud and abuse, combat nursing home fraud and abuse, prevent telemarketing fraud, safeguard pension and employee benefit plans from fraud, bribery and graft.”
Saying that telemarketing fraud “disproportionately impacts Americans over the age of 50, who account for over a third of the estimated $40 billion lost to telemarketing fraud each year,” Leahy said his legislation enhances the Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act that was signed into law last year and provide a “new safety net for seniors to protect them from the criminal activity that affects them the most.”
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