{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hamadeh.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1007", "Congressman Hamadeh Introduces the CATFISH Act to Protect Seniors from Financial Fraudsters", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Abraham J. Hamadeh", "H001098", "hamadeh.house.gov", "hamadeh", "https://hamadeh.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08) introduced the CATFISH Act of 2026, legislation aimed at protecting senior citizens from financial fraudsters.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh introduced the bill in response to constituent concerns about the increasing number of cases in which vulnerable senior citizens are targeted by criminals using fake online identities, known as \u201ccatfishing,\u201d to steal money or personal data.\n\nThe Federal Bureau of Investigation advises that these \u201ccatfishing\u201d con artists are present on most dating and social media sites. Identity theft through this method is becoming a national crisis.\n\nIn 2024, Americans age 60 and older reported losing $2.4 billion to fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Experts estimate that the true annual cost of fraud against seniors exceeds $82 billion, as many victims never report their losses.\n\nThese \u201ccatfish\u201d schemes are commonly operated by transnational criminal organizations, which rely on prepaid gift cards, digital payment platforms, and cryptocurrency transfers to move stolen funds beyond the reach of victims and law enforcement.\n\n\u201cMy team has received many requests for assistance from constituents who have been victimized themselves or are loved ones of seniors who have been victimized by these sophisticated criminals. The stories are heartbreaking,\u201d stated Congressman Hamadeh. \u201cFor too many seniors, these losses mean depleted retirement accounts, delayed medical care, diminished independence, and financial devastation that is unrecoverable. These often-devastating crimes can be prevented, and my legislation aims to do just that.\u201d\n\nThe CATFISH Act of 2026 would:\n\n\u2022 Train frontline employees to recognize fraud\n\n\u2022 Provide seniors with fraud warnings before money is lost\n\n\u2022 Establish anti-fraud standards for financial institutions\n\n\u2022 Encourage best practices to prevent losses\n\n\u2022 Study additional remedies for victims of fraud", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hamadeh.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1007"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8948890026658773, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}