This new bill hopes to 'put the brakes' on financial fraud targeting older Americans

By — Hannah Grabenstein Hannah Grabenstein Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/this-new-bill-hopes-to-put-the-brakes-on-financial-fraud-targeting-older-americans Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter This new bill hopes to 'put the brakes' on financial fraud targeting older Americans Nation Jul 10, 2026 6:09 PM EDT A new bipartisan bill making its way through Congress aims to protect seniors and other vulnerable people from scams by allowing some financial institutions the ability to pause transaction requests while they investigate potential fraud . The Financial Exploitation Prevention Act would give open-end investment companies, including mutual funds, the ability to pause redemption requests from people 65 and older or people with disabilities when the institution believes financial fraud or exploitation is at play. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "Financial exploitation is a huge problem in this country," said Nina Kohn, an elder law expert at the Syracuse University College of Law. Artificial intelligence is also helping fraudsters become more sophisticated and making it harder for people to avoid scams, she added. Financial abuse cost older victims nearly $2.4 billion in 2024, according to incidents reported to the Federal Trade Commission. The agency noted in its annual report that the estimate of total losses include "only a fraction" of older adults harmed by fraud due to underreporting. Three people accused of being behind a major romance fraud scheme targeting older adults were indicted by the Department of Justice in May , part of a series of cases that have charged 11 others from the U.S. and Ghana with wire fraud and money laundering. "The concern is, in part, that individuals may lose their life savings," Kohn said. "So financial institutions and entities that are holding individuals' money can be empowered to help put the brakes on scams by delaying disbursement to a suspected victim," she added. READ MORE: As losses from scams surge, Congress asks telecoms to do more to prevent them The bill passed the House in a 414-2 vote last month, while a similar bill resides in the Senate, though it's not clear if or when the banking committee under that chamber will consider the legislation. The overwhelming support for this bill shows "there's broad agreement that protecting seniors from financial exploitation shouldn't be a partisan issue," said Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., one of the bill's co-sponsors, in an emailed statement to PBS News. The legislation gives these financial institutions additional tools to "recognize when something isn't right and help stop financial abuse before the damage is done." Here's what to know about the bill. What would the bill do? The bill would allow a financial institution that manages investments, such as mutual funds and some exchange-