Avelar Supports Bill Creating Further Fraud Protection for Seniors

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Dagmara “Dee” Avelar, D-Romeoville, is supporting legislation to provide extra support to seniors and other eligible adults who may be vulnerable to fraud or scammers. Financial institutions and their employees will be able to pause suspicious transactions, preventing any fraudulent transactions from being completed.

“Many times, we find that seniors are victims of fraud, because they are unaware how to verify who is calling and if they are a real or trusted source,” said Avelar. “This is why scammers find it easy to contact seniors first, because they are more likely to have accumulated wealth and live alone and without family nearby to detect and prevent fraudsters from scamming them. This legislation holds scammers accountable for targeting vulnerable seniors.” 

House Bill 4767 names investment advisers and other financial institution employees as mandated reporters of potential fraud or exploitation. This will allow a financial institution and its employees to hold transactions that seem suspicious and conduct an internal review of the transaction according to each institution’s review policies. It also increases the penalty from a class 1 felony to a class 4 for scammers that attempt to exploit seniors with disabilities. 

“Seniors have spent their lives working hard to build financial security in retirement, and they should not have that security stolen by scammers,” said Avelar. “This legislation empowers financial advisors to step in when they suspect fraud, helping stop scams before they cause serious harm to seniors. We must continue to protect seniors and ensure that they keep their hard-earned money in their pockets, and this legislation does just that.”