Summary
SB-1096 will require all physical mail solicitations to be labeled on the outside of the envelope, clearly stating that a given piece of physical mail is a solicitation and the recipient is not required to make a payment or take any other action in response to the solicitation.
Background
Senior Californians are targeted everyday through e-mail, physical mail and the telephone. The emergence of COVID-19 has led to an increase in various scams across the country. Consequently, scams and financial fraud targeting older adults has also risen. This rise in targeted scams amongst the elderly population has led to grave emotional, financial, and even health consequences. People of any age-group can be targeted by scammers, however, those over the age of 60 are often more vulnerable and victims over 80 report even higher financial losses.
It is estimated that each year, 1 in 18 cognitively intact older adults in the US falls victim to financial fraud and scams, and the number is thought to be much higher when considering those with cognitive impairment. The dollar losses to financial fraud and scams are incredibly high. Elderly individuals are swindled out of more than $3 billion each year. Additionally, more than 3.5 million senior adults are victims of financial exploitation each year, and seniors targeted by fraudsters suffer an average loss of $34,200. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there are many types of fraud older Americans are most likely to fall victim to, and of them, mail fraud ranks high on the list. Moreover, seniors are often targeted due to their good credit and of those who reported government imposter scams, people over the age of 80 suffered a median loss of $2,700. These “imposter scams” that appear to be from government agencies and banks are used by fraudsters to target the elderly into revealing bank account numbers, passwords and other personal data.
Fraud victimization amongst the elderly takes a toll on their physical and psychological well-being and is associated with hospitalization, loss of independence, depression, suicide, and early mortality. The impacts are particularly concerning for the elderly because they have limited capacity to rebound from these adversarial scams. As a result, the public health and economic challenges presented by these scams will only intensify as our nation continues to age.
Proposal
SB-1096 will continue to clarify physical mail that solicits consumer financial information must be labeled as such on the outside of the envelope, and empower senior Californians to make informed choices after they receive this type of direct physical mail.