WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ashley Moody joined Senators Rick Scott, Mark
Kelly and Kirsten Gillibrand, all members of the Senate Special Committee on
Aging, in sending a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and U.S. Secret Service Director Sean
Curran asking the agencies to prioritize coordinated investigations aimed at
dismantling the foreign networks behind international financial scams. In the
letter, the members express deep concern over the growing threat of
international financial scams in recent years, which are often perpetrated by
international criminal networks, and target older Americans – robbing them of
their life savings, security, and peace of mind.
As Attorney General
of Florida, Senator Ashley Moody prioritized combatting fraud and scams against
Florida’s seniors. As part of her ongoing recent efforts, Senator Moody led the
effort to designate March 6, 2025 as National
Slam the Scam Day to raise awareness of scams and financial
exploitation targeting aging Americans.
Read the full letter HERE or below:
Dear Secretary
Rubio, Secretary Bessent, and Director Curran,
We write to
express concern over the increasing prevalence of financial scams targeting
older Americans that originate abroad and to urge the Department of State, the
Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Secret Service to prioritize
investigating and disrupting these scams. According to FBI data, elder fraud
complaints to the FBI’s Internet Complaint Center increased by 14% in 2023, and
associated losses increased by about 11%. Fraud schemes targeting seniors cost
victims over $3.4 billion annually, robbing them of their life savings and
security. These scams often involve international perpetrators and require a
coordinated federal response to effectively prevent further harm.
The Secret
Service plays a critical role in protecting Americans from financial crimes,
including investigating complex fraud schemes that frequently exploit seniors.
At the same time, the Department of State is uniquely positioned to engage with
international partners to disrupt criminal networks that operate outside the
United States. The Department of the Treasury also plays a vital role in
disrupting scams by foreign actors through sanctions enforcement and by
tracking, exposing, and cutting off their financial networks. Given the
increasing sophistication of these scams, we urge your agencies to prioritize
the collaborative investigation and disruption of these crimes.
We are
encouraged by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) May 5, 2025, sanctions against the Karen National Army (KNA), a militia
group in Burma, and its leadership in response to its actions targeting
Americans. Designated as a transnational criminal organization, the KNA has
facilitated cyber scams that defraud U.S. citizens, engaged in human
trafficking, and supported cross-border smuggling. This decisive action marks a
critical step forward in holding foreign facilitators of fraud accountable.
However, much more must be done through interagency collaboration to dismantle
these networks, prevent the exploitation of trafficked individuals, and cut off
the financial channels that enable such abuses.
We are alarmed
by increasing reports of scam labor camps operating in foreign countries, where
individuals are trafficked or coerced into running fraud operations that
primarily target seniors and other vulnerable populations in the United States.
In August 2023, the UN estimated that more than 120,000 people, have been
trafficked to Southeast Asia to run these online scams in scam labor camps.
These organized criminal enterprises not only defraud Americans but also
involve serious human rights violations. Addressing this issue requires
enhanced diplomatic engagement, intelligence sharing, and cooperation with
international law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and dismantle
these operations.
Specifically, we
ask that your agencies:
- Enhance
investigative efforts to track and dismantle international fraud networks
that prey on seniors, including through partnerships with foreign law
enforcement agencies.
- Expand
efforts to combat scam labor camps, including working with international
partners to identify and hold accountable those responsible for human
trafficking and forced participation in fraudulent activities.
- Strengthen
public awareness to help seniors recognize and avoid fraudulent schemes
before they become victims.
- Improve
interagency coordination with the Federal Trade Commission, Department of
Justice, and other relevant agencies to maximize resources and streamline
efforts to combat scams targeting seniors.
- Increase
transparency and reporting to Congress on current enforcement efforts and
any additional resources or policy recommendations needed to more
effectively address this crisis.
Protecting
seniors from fraud is not just a financial issue—it is a matter of public trust
and security. We appreciate the work your agencies have already done to combat
financial crimes, we look forward to working with you to ensure that the
Federal government is doing everything possible to safeguard older Americans
from these devastating scams.
Please provide
an update on the steps your agencies are taking to address this issue and any
legislative or policy recommendations that could strengthen your efforts by
July 30, 2025. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
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