[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5467-S5468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3673. Mrs. BRITT submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. GUARDING AGING RETIREES FROM DECEPTION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Elder financial fraud.--The term ``elder financial
fraud'' means the illegal or improper use of the money,
property, or other resources of an elderly individual or
adult with a disability for monetary or personal benefit,
profit, or gain.
(2) Eligible federal grant funds.--The term ``eligible
Federal grant funds'' means funds received under any of the
following:
(A) Title IV of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization
for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (34 U.S.C. 30103 et
seq.) (commonly known as the ``Economic, High-Technology,
White Collar, and Internet Crime Prevention National Training
and Technical Assistance Program''), including relating to
the use of technology to solve crimes and to facilitate
prosecutions (commonly known as the ``Internet of Things
(IoT) National Training and Technical Assistance Program'').
(B) Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, part 23
(commonly known as ``Justice Information Sharing Training and
Technical Assistance Program'').
(C) Section 1401 of the Violence Against Women Act
Reauthorization Act of 2022 (34 U.S.C. 30107) to a local law
enforcement agency for enforcement of cybercrimes against
individuals.
(D) Section 1701 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381), relating to
developing and acquiring effective equipment, technologies,
and interoperable communications that assist in responding to
and preventing crime (commonly known as the ``COPS Technology
and Equipment Program'').
(3) General financial fraud.--The term ``general financial
fraud'' means, in order to obtain money or other things of
value--
(A) intentional misrepresentation of information or
identity to deceive an individual;
(B) unlawful use of a credit card, debit card, or automated
teller machine; or
(C) use of electronic means to transmit deceptive
information.
(4) Pig butchering.--The term ``pig butchering'' means a
confidence and investment fraud in which the victim is
gradually lured into making increasing monetary
contributions, generally in the form of cryptocurrency, to a
seemingly sound investment before the scammer disappears with
the contributed monies.
(5) Scam.--The term ``scam'' means a financial crime
undertaken through the use of social engineering that uses
deceptive inducement to acquire--
(A) authorized access to funds; or
(B) personal or sensitive information that can facilitate
the theft of financial assets.
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the
United States.
(b) Federal Grants Used for Investigating Elder Financial
Fraud, Pig Butchering, and General Financial Fraud.--
(1) In general.--State, local, and Tribal law enforcement
agencies and grantees that receive eligible Federal grant
funds may use such funds for investigating elder financial
fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraud, including
by--
(A) hiring and retaining analysts, agents, experts, and
other personnel;
(B) providing training specific to complex financial
investigations, including training on--
(i) coordination and collaboration between State, local,
Tribal, and Federal law enforcement agencies;
(ii) assisting victims of financial fraud and exploitation;
(iii) the use of blockchain intelligence tools and related
capabilities relating to emerging technologies identified in
the February 2024 ``Critical and Emerging Technology List
Update'' of the Fast Track Action Subcommittee on Critical
and Emerging Technologies of the National Science and
Technology Council (the ``Critical and Emerging Technology
List''); and
(iv) unique aspects of fraud investigations, including
transnational financial investigations and emerging
technologies identified in the Critical and Emerging
Technology List;
(C) obtaining software and technical tools to conduct
financial fraud and exploitation investigations;
(D) encouraging improved data collection and reporting;
(E) supporting training and tabletop exercises to enhance
coordination and communication between financial institutions
and State, local, Tribal, and Federal law enforcement
agencies for the purpose of stopping fraud and scams; and
(F) designating a financial sector liaison to serve as a
point of contact for financial institutions to share and
exchange with State, local, Tribal, and Federal law
enforcement agencies information relevant to the
investigation of fraud and scams.
(2) Report to grant provider.--Each law enforcement agency
and grantee that makes use of eligible Federal grant funds
for a purpose specified under paragraph (1) shall, not later
than 1 year after making such use of the funds, submit to the
Federal agency that provided the eligible Federal grant
funds, a report containing--
(A) an explanation of the amount of funds so used, and the
specific purpose for which the funds were used;
(B) statistics with respect to elder financial fraud, pig
butchering, and general financial fraud in the jurisdiction
of the law enforcement agency, along with an analysis of how
the use of the funds for a purpose specified under paragraph
(1) affected such statistics; and
(C) an assessment of the ability of the law enforcement
agency to deter elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and
general financial fraud.
[[Page S5468]]
(c) Report on General Financial Fraud, Pig Butchering, and
Elder Financial Fraud.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury and
the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in
consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, and the appropriate Federal banking
agencies and Federal functional regulators shall, jointly,
submit to Congress a report on efforts and recommendations
related to general financial fraud, pig butchering, elder
financial fraud, and scams.
(d) Report on the State of Scams in the United States.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury and the
Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, in
consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, and the appropriate Federal banking
agencies and Federal functional regulators, shall submit a
report to Congress on the state of scams in the United States
that--
(A) estimates--
(i) the number of financial fraud, pig butchering, elder
financial fraud, and scams committed against American
consumers each year, including--
(I) attempted scams, including through social media, online
dating services, email, impersonation of financial
institutions and nonbank financial institutions; and
(II) successful scams, including through social media,
online dating services, email, impersonation of financial
institutions and nonbank financial institutions;
(ii) the number of consumers each year that lose money to 1
or more scams;
(iii) the dollar amount of consumer losses to scams each
year;
(iv) the percentage of scams each year that can be
attributed to--
(I) overseas actors; and
(II) organized crime;
(v) the number of attempted scams each year that involve
the impersonation of phone numbers associated with financial
institutions and nonbank financial institutions; and
(vi) an estimate of the number of synthetic identities
impersonating American consumers each year;
(B) provides an overview of the Federal civil and criminal
enforcement actions brought against the recipients of the
proceeds of financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial
fraud, and scams during the period covered by the report that
includes--
(i) the number of such enforcement actions;
(ii) an evaluation of the effectiveness of such enforcement
actions;
(iii) an identification of the types of claims brought
against the recipients of the proceeds of financial fraud,
pig butchering, elder financial fraud, and scams;
(iv) an identification of the types of penalties imposed
through such enforcement actions;
(v) an identification of the types of relief obtained
through such enforcement actions; and
(vi) the number of such enforcement actions that are
connected to a Suspicious Activity Report; and
(C) identifies amounts made available and amounts expended
to address financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial
fraud, and scams during the period covered by the report by--
(i) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection;
(ii) the Department of Justice;
(iii) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(iv) the Federal Communications Commission;
(v) the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board;
(vi) the Federal Trade Commission;
(vii) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network;
(viii) the Securities and Exchange Commission; and
(ix) the Social Security Administration.
(2) Solicitation of public comment.--In carrying out the
report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the
Treasury shall solicit comments from consumers, social media
companies, email providers, telecommunications companies,
financial institutions, and nonbank financial institutions.
(e) Report to Congress.--Each Federal agency that provides
eligible Federal grant funds that are used for a purpose
specified under subsection (b)(1) shall issue an annual
report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of
the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary
of the Senate, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives containing the information received
from law enforcement agencies under subsection (b)(2).
(f) Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Assisting State,
Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement and Fusion Centers.--
Federal law enforcement agencies may assist State, local, and
Tribal law enforcement agencies and fusion centers in the use
of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology tools.
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