{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://nunn.house.gov/2024/09/09/nunn-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-stop-scams-against-iowa-retirees/", "Nunn Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Stop Scams Against Iowa Retirees", "2024-09-09", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Zachary Nunn", "N000193", "nunn.house.gov", "nunn", "https://nunn.house.gov/category/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "DES MOINES \u2014 U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) today introduced bipartisan legislation to help crack down on financial scams, particularly \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams, against retirees. The Empowering Law Enforcement to Combat Financial Fraud Act, which is co-led by U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) and Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05), will support law enforcement investigations into scams against retirees.\n\n\u201cScammers prey on Iowa retirees and steal their hard-earned money. Just last year, the Iowa Attorney General\u2019s office received more than 13,000 financial fraud reports resulting in approximately $42.6 million in financial losses,\u201d said Rep. Nunn. \u201cIowa retirees shouldn\u2019t have to worry about fraudsters. And if they are scammed, law enforcement should have the tools needed to bring their case to justice.\u201d\n\nBad actors are leveraging technology at an alarming pace to orchestrate new scams, inflicting harm on a growing number of vulnerable and elderly Americans. Alarmingly, older adults are bearing the brunt of these scams, suffering significantly higher financial losses. In 2021, the median loss for individuals over 70 was a staggering $9,000, compared to $2,400 across all age groups.\n\n\u201cFraudsters are using every trick in the book \u2014 social media, email, and phone \u2014 to swindle Americans out of billions of dollars every year. We need Twenty-First century tools to crack down on the criminals behind these scams,\u201d said Rep. Gottheimer. \u201cMy new bipartisan bill, the Empowering Law Enforcement to Combat Financial Fraud Act, which I\u2019m co-leading with Congressman Zach Nunn, will ensure that law enforcement can access cutting-edge technologies to stop online scams and keep our communities safe.\u201d\n\nA common scam is known as \u201cpig butchering.\u201d A \u201cpig butchering\u201d scam is a type of financial fraud in which scammers target individuals, commonly retirees, to convince them to invest money in a fake opportunity. The term \u201cpig butchering\u201d refers to the process of \u201cfattening up\u201d a victim with false promises before \u201cbutchering\u201d them by stealing their invested funds. In 2022, these scams have resulted in reported losses of more than $1 billion. It has gotten so bad that the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has published an explicit warning telling Americans over 50 to watch out for criminals trying to trick them out of their hard-earned savings.\n\n\u201cFinancial fraud crimes increasingly involve sophisticated technology to scam Americans out of their hard-earned dollars,\u201d said Rep. Fitzgerald. \u201cI am proud to co-lead the Empowering Law Enforcement to Combat Financial Fraud Act which will give state and local law enforcement the resources they need to utilize blockchain to track criminals who attempt to defraud Wisconsin seniors and families.\u201d\n\nLaw enforcement and national security agencies have a crucial advantage against these criminals: blockchain technology\u2019s permanence and transparency. Officers can utilize blockchain technology to stop these criminals in their tracks. In November, the U.S. Department of Justice, using blockchain, froze approximately $225 million linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia responsible for \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams. Additionally, 3,500 cybercriminals associated with online scamming were arrested by authorities during a South a South Korea-led Interpol operation in late 2023. The authorities also sized $300 million in stolen funds.\n\nUnfortunately, state and local officers are overwhelmed with these crimes that often do not reach the threshold to warrant federal intervention. While federal agencies are trained in blockchain tracing skills, many states have limited staff with the ability to help these victims. This leads to many crimes going unsolved.\n\nThe bipartisan Empowering Law Enforcement to Combat Financial Fraud Act will allow state and local law enforcement to use eligible federal grant funding to investigate financial fraud and \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams against retirees. It will also permit federal law enforcement to assist state and local law enforcement with tracing tools for blockchain technology.\n\nThe bipartisan Empowering Law Enforcement to Combat Financial Fraud Act is supported by AARP, the Financial Technology Association, the REACT Task Force, the Digital Chamber, the Iowa State Police Association, and the National State Police Association.\n\nText of the bill can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "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://nunn.house.gov/2024/09/09/nunn-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-stop-scams-against-iowa-retirees/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.064252108335495, "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"}