Good afternoon, chairman nelson, Ranking Member collins and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you on behalf of the federal trade commission to discuss the commissions role in combating telemarketing fraud. As we have heard the jish inflicted by fraud is wellknown. The harm is not just economic but emotional as well. To tackle phone fraud, the ftc uses Law Enforcement with close coordinate with federal and international counterparts, education and outreach and an initiative to spur technological innovation to develop tools that help consumers avoid unwanted calls and also help law enforcers to track down the frauds. First Law Enforcement and with a focus on imposter scams. Each of us seeks out and relies upon trusted sources. Thats the very thing scammers use and twist. Whether they pretend to be from the government, a Family Member or hide behind a recognizable corporate name. Impersonating someone trusted is more than a door opener. Its an invitat
The victim over the telephone that his or her grandchild or another relative is in jail, is in the hospital or stuck in a foreign country and needs money to get out of the predicament. And since the beginning of 2012, the federal trade commission has received more than 30,000 complaints about scammers who claim to be a friend or a Family Member in distress. And its costing americans more than 42 million. Just since the beginning of 12. Now, this doesnt tell the whole story. Since a majority of these crimes go unreported. What we do know is that the ftc reports that imposter scams have double doubled between 2009 and 2013. And so today were going to hear from a distinguished panel on what authorities are doing to detect and prosecute such crimes and how seniors can protect themselves. We are also going to hear about private industrys role in combating these scams. The bottom line is that the government alone cannot prevent these types of scams. Private companies that sell prepaid debit
Next a Senate Aging Committee hearing on phone scams targeting seniors. Witnesses talked about a particular scam where someone pretended to be a Family Member or loved one to get a victim to wire them money. Americans lost more than 73 million to phone scams last year. This is about 50 minutes. Good afternoon. Ive asked all of you to join the table instead of two panels, because we have a vote that is being called around 2 20. So i want to take the advantage of going ahead and getting all of your testimony. This hearing is the latest in a series of investigations the committee has conducted on the devastating impact that fraud and scams have on Senior Citizens over the last two years. We have explored the rise of jamaican lottery scams, tax refund schemes and Social Security and medicare fraud. So today we are going to examine a what is now making a comeback in the scam world. And its called the grandparent or emergency scam. Its quite despicable. It preys on a Senior Citizens willingn
Ive asked all of you to join the table instead of two panels because we have a vote that is being called at around 220. So i want to take advantage of going ahead and getting all of your testimony. This hearing is the latest in a series of investigations the committee has conducted on the devastating impact that fraud and scams have on seniors citizens. Over the last two years, weve explored the rise of jamaican lottery scams, tax refund schemes and Social Security and medicare fraud. So today were going to examine a, what is now making a comeback in the scam world, and its called the grandparent or emergency scam. Its quite despicable. It preys on a Senior Citizens willingness to do anything to help a Family Member in trouble. For example, a scammer convinces the victim over the telephone that his or her grandchild, or another relative, is in jail, is in the hospital, or stuck in a foreign country, and needs money to get out of the predicament. Since the beginning of 2012, the federal
Into the San Joaquin Valley to work as a migrant farm worker. It was no challenge to find a job. There were not a lot of thousands of people trying to get the jobs of pulling weeds with these very same hands that are now doing brain surgery. I was pulling the weeds, and as you can imagine, pulling the weeds from the land that is doing all the products, cantaloupes, cauliflower, corn, all those kind of things, my hands were bloody, i mean, continuously being hurt. So there were not a lot of people lining up. Er came in and asked for a job, and i immediately got a job. And then eventually, right around Ronald Reagan had the Immigration Reform that gave a working authorization specifically for people who had been in the United States for a certain amount of years, and then there was a special legislation for people who came and work as migrant farm workers. And that legislation allowed you to have a working authorization. That was the first thing. And to pay taxes. And eventually, that wo