Casey holds hearing on protecting older adults targeted by frauds, scams

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey on Thursday held a hearing to highlight the psychological and economic impacts that frauds and scams have on older adults, who are disproportionately targeted by fraudsters.

Casey, D-Scranton, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, held an Aging Committee hearing entitled — “Fighting Fraud: How Scammers Are Stealing from Older Adults.”

During the hearing, Casey unveiled the Aging Committee’s annual Fraud Book, which provides seniors with an overview of the most prevalent scams, to help them identify and avoid being victimized.

Casey said the Fraud Book also contains resources for scam victims.

In addition to the Fraud Book, Casey touted his report on the 2017 Republican tax law, called — “Scammed Then Taxed” — which details how the law’s repeal of the theft loss deduction has imposed significant taxes on many scam victims.

“At today’s hearing, we heard tragic stories from scam victims and law enforcement about how fraudsters are getting more sophisticated and aggressive with their scams and throwing the lives of older adults into chaos,” Casey said. “We must do everything we can to educate older adults about the threats they face from frauds and scams.”

And Casey said that more must be done to provide resources for those who have been victimized by scams — including those who have been forced to pay taxes on money they’ve lost due to changes in the “2017 Republican tax law.”

Casey invited Susan Whittaker, an Administrative Assistant at Lehigh County Aging and Adult Services in Allentown, to testify at the hearing about her late husband’s experience as a scam victim.

“This scam was devastating and had a devastating effect on Bill — both financially and emotionally,” Whittaker said. “Because we lost $20,000, and Bill had a lot of chronic health conditions, Bill began to ration his medications. We just couldn’t afford them anymore. He also lost his sense of self-worth. I was really sad to see this very intelligent and past business owner, become so afraid to read emails and use a phone. It was a huge setback for him, and I think contributed to his worsening health conditions — he stopped living.”