[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 773 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 773

 To establish a separate office within the Federal Trade Commission to 
        prevent fraud targeting seniors, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2011

  Mr. Deutch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a separate office within the Federal Trade Commission to 
        prevent fraud targeting seniors, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Seniors Financial Fraud Prevention 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD TARGETING SENIORS.

    (a) Establishment of Office.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
establish a separate office within the Commission for the purpose of 
preventing fraud targeting seniors and to assist the Commission with 
the following:
            (1) Oversight.--The office shall monitor the market for 
        mail, telemarketing, television, and Internet fraud targeting 
        seniors and shall coordinate with other relevant agencies 
        regarding the requirements of this section.
            (2) Consumer education.--The Federal Trade Commission 
        through the office shall, after consultation with the Attorney 
        General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
        Postmaster General, and the Chief Postal Inspector for the 
        United States Postal Inspection Service--
                    (A) disseminate to seniors and families and 
                caregivers of seniors general information on mail, 
                telemarketing, television, and Internet fraud targeting 
                seniors, including descriptions of the most common 
                fraud schemes;
                    (B) disseminate to seniors and families and 
                caregivers of seniors information on means of referring 
                complaints of fraud targeting seniors to appropriate 
                law enforcement agencies, including the Director of the 
                Federal Bureau of Investigation, the attorneys general 
                of the States, and a national toll-free telephone 
                number for reporting mail, telemarketing, television, 
                and Internet fraud established by the Federal Trade 
                Commission;
                    (C) in response to a specific request about a 
                particular entity or individual, provide publicly 
                available information on any record of civil or 
                criminal law enforcement action for mail, 
                telemarketing, television, or Internet fraud against 
                such entity; and
                    (D) maintain a website to serve as a resource for 
                information for seniors and families and caregivers of 
                seniors regarding mail, telemarketing, television, and 
                Internet fraud targeting seniors.
            (3) Complaints.--The Federal Trade Commission through the 
        office shall, after consultation with the Attorney General, 
        establish procedures to--
                    (A) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints 
                by individuals who certify that they have a reasonable 
                belief that they have been the victim of fraud in 
                connection with the conduct of mail, telemarketing (as 
                that term is defined in section 2325 of title 18, 
                United States Code), television, and Internet;
                    (B) provide to individuals described in 
                subparagraph (A), and to any other persons, information 
                on mail, telemarketing, television, and Internet fraud, 
                including--
                            (i) general information on mail, 
                        telemarketing, television, and Internet fraud, 
                        including descriptions of the most common mail, 
                        telemarketing, television, and Internet fraud 
                        schemes;
                            (ii) information on means of referring 
                        complaints on mail, telemarketing, television, 
                        and Internet fraud to appropriate law 
                        enforcement agencies, including the Director of 
                        the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 
                        Attorney General; and
                            (iii) information, if available, on the 
                        number of complaints of mail, telemarketing, 
                        television, and Internet fraud against 
                        particular companies and any record of 
                        convictions for mail, telemarketing, 
                        television, and Internet fraud by particular 
                        companies for which a specific request has been 
                        made; and
                    (C) refer complaints described in subparagraph (A) 
                to appropriate entities, including State consumer 
                protection agencies or entities and appropriate law 
                enforcement agencies, for potential law enforcement 
                action.
    (b) Commencement.--The Federal Trade Commission shall commence 
carrying out the requirements of this section not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>