§ 45e. Office for the prevention of fraud targeting seniors

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(a)Establishment of Advisory Office The Federal Trade Commission (in this section referred to as the “Commission”) shall establish an office within the Bureau of Consumer Protection for the purpose of advising the Commission on the prevention of fraud targeting seniors and to assist the Commission with the following:

(1)Oversight The advisory office shall monitor the market for mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and recorded message telephone call (in this section referred to as “robocall”) fraud targeting seniors and shall coordinate with other relevant agencies regarding the requirements of this section.

(2)Consumer education The Commission, through the advisory office and in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Postmaster General, the Chief Postal Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection Service, and other relevant agencies, shall—

(A)disseminate to seniors and families and caregivers of seniors general information on mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud targeting seniors, including descriptions of the most common fraud schemes;

(B)disseminate to seniors and families and caregivers of seniors information on reporting complaints of fraud targeting seniors either to the national toll-free telephone number established by the Commission for reporting such complaints, or to the Consumer Sentinel Network, operated by the Commission, where such complaints will become immediately available to appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the attorneys general of the States;

(C)in response to a specific request about a particular entity or individual, provide publicly available information of any enforcement action taken by the Commission for mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall 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, television, internet, telemarketing, robocall, and other identified fraud targeting seniors.

(3)Complaints The Commission, through the advisory office and in consultation with the Attorney General, shall establish procedures to—

(A)log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals who believe they have been a victim of mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud in the Consumer Sentinel Network, and shall make those complaints immediately available to Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities; and

(B)provide to individuals described in subparagraph (A), and to any other persons, specific and general information on mail, television, internet, telemarketing, and robocall fraud, including descriptions of the most common schemes using such methods of communication.

(b)Commencement The Commission shall commence carrying out the requirements of this section not later than 1 year after March 15, 2022.

(c)Use of existing funds No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section and the Commission shall carry out this section using amounts otherwise made available to the Commission.

(Pub. L. 117–103, div. Q, title I, § 122, Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 811.)

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