U.S. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Tom Barrett, R-Michigan, recently introduced the One Front Door for Elder Fraud Act, a piece of legislation designed to streamline the reporting process for elder fraud.
The bill aims to create an inter-agency framework to give law enforcement and prosecutors better information to fight fraud.
Reporting fraud is the first step to recovering stolen funds or preventing other would-be victims from falling prey to the same scam, Gluesenkamp Perez stated in a news release. Right now, there are 10 federal agencies, most with their own separate intake channels, and a poorly coordinated set of federal reporting sites, plus 50-plus state portals, with no single number to call and no designated first-click destination, according to the news release. As a result, fraud reporting is an overly complicated process that handicaps law enforcement efforts to quickly respond and, in some cases, recover stolen funds, according to the release.
Specifically, the legislation would:
• Designate a single front door for elder-fraud reporting, reachable two ways, by phone and on the web, to route each request to the federal agency whose mandate fits
• The hotline should answer 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• The website should also include digital resources for combatting the most common types of scams.
The new reporting framework would be similar to VSAFE, introduced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2024 to create a single number and website specifically for veterans to report fraud, scams and predatory practices.
“People who steal from seniors and retirees are the lowest of the low. No one should have to navigate impenetrable government websites or spend hours stuck on hold trying to report these scams,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in the release. “My bill makes it simple, you call one number or go to one site and your report goes directly to the investigator you need. When we give law enforcement the tools to fight back, they can respond immediately and take on these predatory scammers.”
