FTC Issues Statement Before Committee on Aging on Stopping Senior Scams

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 -- The Federal Trade Commission issued the text of the following testimony by Associate Director Lois C. Greisman before a Senate Special Committee on Aging on "Stopping Senior Scams: Developments in Financial Fraud Affecting Seniors":

"Chairman Collins, Ranking Member Casey, and members of the Committee, I am Lois Greisman, Associate Director of the Division of Marketing Practices, in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission ("Commission" or "FTC").1 I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to provide an overview of current trends affecting older Americans2 and the Commission's actions to address them.

"Combatting fraud is a critical component of the FTC's consumer protection mission. All consumers are potential fraud targets. While older Americans are not necessarily defrauded at higher rates than younger consumers,3 certain types of scams are more likely to impact older Americans, such as fraudulent prize promotion schemes.4 Such trends are crucial for the FTC to understand. According to recent U.S. Census Bureau projections, by 2030 more than 20 percent of U.S. residents will be over age 65, compared to 13 percent in 2010 and 9.8 percent in 1970.5

"As the population of older Americans grows rapidly, the FTC's efforts to identify illegal marketing impacting seniors and bring aggressive law enforcement action, as well as provide useful consumer advice, become increasingly vital.

"To protect seniors, the Commission has implemented a multi-faceted approach that encompasses robust law enforcement, strategic policy initiatives, and vigorous consumer education and outreach. This testimony describes the current landscape and then outlines the Commission's various initiatives to protect older Americans.

"I. Current Threats to Older Americans Virtually every law enforcement case the Commission brings affects some seniors, and certain types of scams appear to target seniors specifically or may have a disproportionate impact on them. To identify and analyze trends regarding scams that affect different groups of consumers, the FTC assesses the marketplace in numerous ways: tracking consumer complaints; examining empirical data gathered from surveys; and investigating information from law enforcement partners and stakeholders about the issues facing consumers.

"The Commission also conducts workshops and conferences to bring together law enforcement partners, industry, consumer groups, academics and others to identify new issues and collaborate on fighting fraud.6 Since 2010, the FTC has held 33 "Common Ground" conferences around the country to engage local law enforcement officials and community organizations, including legal services providers, in the conversation about fraud. These conferences have covered a variety of consumer protection topics and looked at issues affecting a range of population segments; for example, a recent conference in Madison, Wisconsin included a panel focused on combating fraud affecting older consumers.7 In March, the FTC will host a workshop in partnership with the National Association of State Charities Officials, to aid in its work to combat fraud in charitable giving. This workshop will examine the demographics of those who make charitable donations, and will explore how the FTC and other consumer advocates can effectively arm consumers against charitable fundraising scams.8

"Through these types of collaborations and our law enforcement experience, the Commission has identified several varieties of fraudulent and deceptive schemes that affect seniors9 including: (1) sweepstakes, prize promotions, and lotteries;10 (2) timeshare sales and re- sales;11 (3) health care products and services;12 (4) investments, business opportunities, and work-from-home programs;13 (5) technical support services;14 and (6) charitable donations.15

"In addition, self-reported consumer data from our Consumer Sentinel Complaint database16--an online database of complaints maintained by the Commission--shows that in 2015 and 2016, consumers age 60 and older primarily complained about imposter scams, as well as telemarketing practices17 and tech support scams.18

"In response to these complaint trends, as well as the insights gained from our survey research and conferences, the FTC has focused its efforts to protect older consumers in three areas: (1) law enforcement targeting specific types of fraudulent and deceptive practices; (2) policy initiatives designed to identify and track trends affecting older consumers; and (3) effective education messages to help older Americans avoid common fraud schemes.

"II. Law Enforcement Aggressive law enforcement is crucial to the FTC's efforts to protect older Americans.

"Though all of the FTC's fraud cases involve older consumers as part of the general population, in the past three years alone the Commission has brought 25 cases alleging that defendants' conduct has specifically targeted or disproportionately harmed older adults. Many of these cases related to illegal telemarketing or deceptive marketing of health-related products and services. The FTC also has pursued actions regarding the money transfer services that are commonly used in scams affecting older adults, and has coordinated efforts with criminal and foreign law enforcement agencies to achieve a broader impact.

"A. Deceptive Telemarketing Telemarketing remains one of the most pervasive means scammers use to target consumers. It allows them to reach nearly every American consumer, wherever they may live, at minimal expense.19 Many scammers take advantage of technological advancements in the phone system to blast millions of prerecorded messages, or robocalls,20 to seniors. Since 2009, the Telemarketing Sales Rule has prohibited the vast majority of robocalls selling a good or service.21 To date, the Commission has filed 45 cases against 163 companies and 121 individuals responsible for billions of illegal robocalls, as well as numerous Do-Not-Call violations. The 37 actions that have concluded have resulted in judgments totaling more than $500 million in civil penalties, redress, or disgorgement, with $29 million in collected judgments. Recently, the FTC led a multinational legal crackdown on robocallers, working with domestic and international law enforcement partners to bring nearly 40 cases against operations believed to be responsible for billions of illegal robocalls.22 Just last month, the FTC announced actions against two massive robocall telemarketing operations, alleging that these operations together made hundreds of millions of robocalls per month.23 The agency announced proposed settlements with many of the defendants that would permanently ban them from making robocalls.

"Operations that place billions of calls to U.S. consumers affect all consumers, including seniors, but the FTC is also vigilant for evidence of schemes that specifically target the elderly. This past June, the FTC and the Florida Attorney General obtained a court order temporarily shutting down a company that allegedly bombarded consumers with illegal robocalls touting bogus credit-card interest rate reduction and debt relief services.24 We charged that the defendants used fake company names that deceived consumers into thinking that the defendants had a relationship or affiliation with the consumers' credit-card issuers. In some instances, the defendants allegedly tailored their debt elimination pitch to consumers over age 60.25 The complaint states that this scheme bilked consumers out of more than $15.6 million since 2013. Technical support scams also may disproportionately affect older Americans.26 A typical technical support scam begins when a consumer receives a phone call from someone who claims, "There is a problem with your computer. I will help you fix it." The scammer then deceives the consumers into purchasing unnecessary or even harmful services to "fix" non-existent problems; consumers believe that their computer has been "fixed," but in reality it never had a problem.

"In recent years, the FTC has seen a number of tech support scams employing a new twist on this model by using various methods to induce consumers to pick up the phone and place calls to the scammers. For example, last June the FTC obtained a court order temporarily shutting down an operation that allegedly used internet ads to imitate alerts on consumers' computer displays.27 According to the FTC's complaint, the phony alerts mimicked legitimate messages from Apple or Microsoft, misleading consumers, many of whom were senior citizens, into believing their computers had serious problems and directing them to call a toll-free number.28

"Once on the phone, the operation's telemarketers allegedly claimed to "diagnose" the computer, inevitably claiming to find grave problems requiring immediate repair by a technician. The scammers then allegedly charged consumers hundreds of dollars for repairs they likely did not need. Technical support scams like this one have caused consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in injury. The FTC continues to target such scammers, consulting with state and federal partners as well as researchers and computer software and manufacturing industry members, and has additional investigations underway.

"Other pernicious telemarketing schemes threaten the elderly. The FTC recently brought two cases involving business opportunities that appear to have affected older adults, including veterans, looking to supplement their income.29 In FTC v. Advertising Strategies, LLC, the FTC alleges that defendants told their consumer victims--many of whom are seniors or veterans--that the consumers would earn substantial income by owning or investing in e-commerce websites.30 We contend that defendants collected hundreds or thousands of dollars from each victim, but consumers never received the promised income. In another case, the FTC charged that the defendants took money from seniors, veterans, and debt-laden consumers by selling them a worthless money-making opportunity purportedly linked to Amazon.com, and lured them with a phony grant program.31

The complete text of the testimony is available at (https://us6.proxysite.com/process.php?d=NLYVJ1TpRWAHxTrma8gq0y%2FEKWfleh2YMLqkpJCaB1%2BM710HVX8w90sB6QAIDM8wft7bZcTXSFx3UzryMeB8zGWK1qGmWUuDWNl%2FoQclKMMX8Bi1mRCcLR4P5eptc6DhyPbHHThJEkd9tQ6t%2F8%2FyReYNNeOkx4Pn1tFMFqBN9GS85R0w6NqKDJj4&b=1).

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1 The views expressed in this statement represent the views of the Commission. My oral presentation and responses to questions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or any individual Commissioner.

2 In this testimony, and in FTC enforcement cases, the terms "seniors," "older Americans," and "the elderly" refer to the population age 65 years and older, unless noted otherwise. Statistics regarding complaints to the FTC (see Appendix), however, use 10-year age brackets (e.g., 60-69, 70-79) because that is the manner in which age is reported in the complaints.

3 For example, the FTC's third consumer fraud survey revealed that the overall rate of victimization for consumers age 65 and older was significantly lower than for younger consumers for the surveyed frauds. Fed. Trade Comm'n Bureau of Economics Staff Report, Consumer Fraud in the U.S., 2011: The Third FTC Survey ("FTC Fraud Survey"), at 56-59 (Apr. 2013), https://www.ftc.gov/reports/consumer-fraud-united-states-2011-third-ftc-survey. A fourth consumer fraud survey is in process. See Press Release, FTC to Conduct Consumer Fraud Survey, (Mar. 25, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/03/ftc-conduct-consumer-fraud-survey.

4 FTC Fraud Survey at 58-59.

5 See FTC Workshop, The Changing Consumer Demographics (Dec. 6, 2016) ("Demographics Workshop"), Jennifer Ortman, U.S. Census Bureau, Speaker Materials, Slide 23. A video of the workshop, agenda and other materials are available at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events-calendar/2016/12/changing-consumer-demographics; Jennifer Ortman, Victoria Velkoff, & Howard Hogan; U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, An Aging Nation: The Older Population in the United States at 1 (May 2014), https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p25-1140.pdf.

6 See, e.g., FTC Workshop, Fraud Affects Every Community (Oct. 29, 2014), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/eventscalendar/2014/10/fraud-affects-every-community.

7 See FTC Conference, Working Together to Protect Midwest Consumers: A Common Ground Conference (Oct. 25, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events-calendar/2016/10/working-together-protect-midwest-consumers-common-ground.

8 See Press Release, Federal Trade Commission & National Association of State Charities Officials to Host Conference Exploring Consumer Protection Issues and Charitable Solicitations March 2017 (Nov. 15, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/11/federal-trade-commission-national-association-state-charities.

9 Some scams, such as Medicare imposter frauds, may be directed specifically to seniors; others, such as sweepstakes and technical support scams, may have a disproportionate impact on seniors. Many other frauds may affect seniors no more than younger consumers.

10 See, e.g., FTC v. Terry Somenzi, No. 16-CV-7101 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 21, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/1623226/terry-somenzi-individually-officer-international-advisory (alleging defendants sent hundreds of thousands of mailings for a prize promotion scam, targeting mostly elderly consumers). See, infra note 44 (discussing the case as part of a coordinated effort with the Department of Justice and other entities to fight mass-mailing fraud schemes).

11 See, e.g., FTC v. J. William Enterprises, LLC, No. 16-CV-2123 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 12, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3061/j-william-enterprises-llc (alleging defendants' false promises to facilitate timeshare sales or rentals bilked $15 million from consumers).

12 See, e.g., FTC v. Supple, LLC, No. 16-CV-1325 (E.D. Wis. Oct. 4, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/142-3231/supple-llc (alleging defendants falsely claimed supplement was scientifically proven to eliminate joint pain and completely relieved pain from arthritis and fibromyalgia); FTC v. Mercola.com, LLC, No. 16-CV-4282 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 13, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/142-3210/mercolacom-llc (alleging defendants falsely advertised that tanning beds "reversed the appearance of aging," did not increase risk of cancer, and were approved by the FDA).

13 See, e.g., FTC v. Blue Saguaro Marketing, LLC, No. 16-CV-3406 (D. Ariz. Oct. 28, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3131-x170003/max-results-marketingblue-saguaro-marketing (charged defendants bilked seniors and veterans into buying worthless money-making opportunities and paying for phony grants program); FTC v. Advertising Strategies, LLC, No. 16-CV-3353 (D. Ariz. Oct. 3, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3154/advertising-strategies-llc-et-al (charged defendants' telemarketing scheme defrauded seniors, including veterans, with bogus e-commerce money-making opportunities).

14 See, e.g., FTC v. Big Dog Solutions LLC, No. 16-CV-6607 (N.D. Ill. June 24, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3042-x160045/help-desk-national (FTC and Florida charged defendants falsely claimed that malware or hackers had compromised consumers' computers to induce purchase of tech support); FTC v. Global Access Technical Support LLC, No. 16-CV-1556 (E.D. Miss. Oct. 3, 2016) https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3095-x170001/global-access-technical-support (charged defendants misled consumers with pop-up ads that mimicked legitimate alerts warning consumers of computer infection).

15 See, e.g., FTC v. Cancer Fund of Am., Inc., No. 15-CV-884 (D. Ariz. Mar. 29, 2016) https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/122-3005-x150042/cancer-fund-america-inc (FTC, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia charged that defendants claimed to help cancer patients but spent the majority of donations on their operators, families and friends, and fundraisers).

16 In calendar year 2015, the Consumer Sentinel Network received 2,650,577 fraud and other complaints (excluding identity theft and Do-Not-Call registry complaints). Consumers reported their age in 674,000 (25%) of these complaints, with 220,965 reporting their age as 60 or older. In calendar year 2016, Consumer Sentinel received 2,651,149 fraud and other complaints. Consumers reported their age in 766,034 (29%) of these complaints, with 251,731 reporting their age as 60 or older. For information regarding the Consumer Sentinel Network, which is available to more than 2000 state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as some international partners, see FTC, Consumer Sentinel Network, https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/consumer-sentinel-network.

17 Complaints classified as "telemarketing practices" include an array of issues with telephone calls. However, the category does not include complaints categorized as Do-Not-Call registry complaints.

18 See Appendix, Figures 1 and 2.

19 For example, one recent complaint alleged the defendants' cost for each robocall, on average, was a fraction of a cent. See Press Release, FTC Obtains Settlement Permanently Banning Vacation Package Pitchmen from Using Robocalls (Mar. 17, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/03/ftc-obtains-settlement-permanently-banning-vacation-package.

20 New technologies have led to an immense source of consumer frustration - the blasting of prerecorded messages that primarily rely on Voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") technology. In 2016, the FTC received an average of more than 290,000 robocall complaints per month.

21 See 16 C.F.R. section 310.4(b)(1)(v).

22 See Press Release, FTC, Florida Attorney General Take Action Against Illegal Robocall Operation (June 14, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/06/ftc-florida-attorney-general-take-action-against-illegal-robocall.

23 See Press Release, FTC Announces Crackdown on Two Massive Illegal Robocall Operations (Jan. 13, 2017) https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/01/ftc-announces-crackdown-two-massive-illegal-robocall-operations.

24 See FTC v. Life Management Services of Orange County, LLC, 6:16-CV-982-Orl (M.D. Fla. June 8, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/152-3216/life-management.

25 For example, one consumer stated that the telemarketer claimed to be offering "a program to help senior citizens eliminate their debt." FTC v. Life Management Services of Orange County, LLC, 6:16-CV-982-Orl, Plaintiff's Exhibit 7 (M.D. Fla. June 8, 2016).

26 The FTC's Consumer Sentinel complaint data and law enforcement experience suggest that tech support schemes disproportionately affect older Americans.

27 FTC v. Big Dog Solutions LLC, No. 16-CV-6607 (N.D. Ill. June 28, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/160707helpdesknatltro.pdf; see also Press Release, FTC and Florida Charge Tech Support Operation with Tricking Consumers Into Paying Millions for Bogus Services, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/07/ftc-florida-charge-tech-support-operation-tricking-consumers.

28 FTC v. Big Dog Solutions LLC, No. 16-CV-6607 (N.D. Ill. June 24, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/160707helpdesknatlcmpt.pdf.

29 FTC v. Advertising Strategies, LLC, 2:16-cv-03353 (D. Ariz. Oct. 4, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3154/advertising-strategies-llc-et-al; FTC v. Blue Saguaro Marketing, LLC, (D. Ariz. Oct. 28, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3131-x170003/max-results-marketingblue-saguaro-marketing.

30 Press Release, FTC Acts to Stop Telemarketing Fraud Targeting Seniors (Oct. 13, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/10/ftc-acts-stop-telemarketing-fraud-targeting-seniors.

31 Press Release, FTC Action Halts Telemarketing Scheme That Pitched Money-Making Opportunities and Grants (Oct. 28, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/10/ftc-action-halts-telemarketing-scheme-pitched-money-making.

32 FTC v. J. William Enterprises, LLC, No. 16-CV-2123 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 12, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/162-3061/j-william-enterprises-llc.

33 FTC v. Supple, LLC, No. 16-CV-1325 (E.D. Wis. Oct. 4, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/142-3231/supple-llc; see also Press Release, Marketers of Joint Pain Supplement Agree to Settle FTC Charges of Deceptive Advertising, Endorsements (Oct. 5, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/10/marketers-joint-pain-supplement-agree-settle-ftc-charges.

34 FTC v. Mercola.com, LLC, No. 16-CV-4282 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 13, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/142-3210/mercolacom-llc.

35 FTC v. LearningRx Franchise Corp., No. 16-CV-1159 (D. Colo. May 24, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/142-3206/learningrx-franchise-corp; FTC v. Lumos Labs, Inc., No. 16-CV-0001 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 8, 2016), available at https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/132-3212/lumos-labs-inc-lumosity-mobile-online-cognitive-game.

36 Press Release, Marketers of One-on-One 'Brain Training' Programs Settle FTC Charges That Claims about Ability to Treat Severe Cognitive Impairments Are Unsupported (May 18, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/05/marketers-one-one-brain-training-programs-settle-ftc-charges.

37 Press Release, Lumosity to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC Deceptive Advertising Charges for Its "Brain Training" Program (Jan. 5, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/01/lumosity-pay-2-million-settle-ftc-deceptive-advertising-charges.

38 FTC v. The Western Union Company, (M.D. Penn. Jan. 19, 2017), https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/122-3208/western-union-company.

39 A grandparent scam involves an imposter claiming to be a grandchild in need of immediate financial help, such as money to get out of jail or to cover hospital costs. Many perpetrators in these types of cases are located overseas. See, e.g., Press Release, FBI, Alleged Operator of "Grandparent Scam" Indicted (Oct. 26, 2012), http://www.fbi.gov/losangeles/press-releases/2012/alleged-operator-of-grandparent-scam-indicted.

40 FTC v. Dayton Family Productions, No. 97-CV-00750-GMN-VCF (D. Nev. Mar. 16, 2016). The decision is currently on appeal before the Ninth Circuit. The FTC's third consumer fraud survey revealed that consumers between ages 65 and 74 were more likely to be victims of fraudulent prize promotions than younger consumers. FTC Fraud Survey, supra note 3, at 59.

41 United States of America v. Glen Burke and Michael Rossi aka Mike Ross, No. 2:16-cr-262 (D. Nev. Aug. 31, 2016), https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/895151/download.

42 Press Release, Justice Department and Law Enforcement Partners Announce Civil and Criminal Actions to Dismantle Global Network of Mass Mailing Fraud Schemes Targeting Elderly and Vulnerable Victims (Sept. 22, 2016), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-law-enforcement-partners-announce-civil-and-criminal-actions-dismantle.

43 For example, the FTC has released a Mail Fraud fact sheet and a blog post to educate consumers about signs that a mailing is part of a scam. Mail Fraud Scams, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/ftc_pass-it-in-mail-fraud-scams_092116.pdf; Bridget Small, Prize scams in your mailbox, FTC (Sept. 22, 2016), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/prize-scams-your-mailbox.

44 See Press Release, FTC Charges Fake Prize Scheme Operators with Fraud (Sept. 22, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/09/ftc-charges-fake-prize-scheme-operators-fraud.

45 See supra note 41.

46 See, e.g, note 39, supra.

47 See, e.g., Press Release, FBI, Owner of Timeshare Telemarketing Fraud Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison (Jan. 29, 2014), http://www.fbi.gov/miami/press-releases/2014/owner-of-timeshare-telemarketing-fraud-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison; Press Release, United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Adams Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme (Feb. 9, 2012), http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/gan/press/2012/02-09-12.html.

48 See, e.g., Shefali Anand, Indian Police Bust IRS 'Scam Center', The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 5, 2016), http://www.wsj.com/articles/indian-police-detain-workers-over-possible-irs-phone-scam-1475674691.

49 The FTC's initiative with Indian law enforcement is only one way the agency has tackled "government imposter scams"--the largest subset of complaints from older adults in Appendix, Figures 1 and 2, infra. For example, the FTC has brought law enforcement actions against other such scams operating domestically. See, e.g., Press Release, FTC Charges Operators of Scheme that Used Fake Government Affiliation to Sell Commercial Trucking Registration Services (Oct. 17, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/10/ftc-charges-operators-scheme-used-fake-government-affiliation; Press Release, FTC Action Halts Phony OSHA Scam that Targets New Small Businesses (June 21, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/06/ftc-action-halts-phony-osha-scam-targets-new-small-businesses.

50 Press Release, Dozens of Individuals Indicted in Multimillion-Dollar Indian Call Center Scam Targeting U.S. Victims (Oct. 27, 2016), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/dozens-individuals-indicted-multimillion-dollar-indian-call-center-scam-targeting-us-victims.

51 Nat Wood, Police raids in India cut down IRS imposter calls, FTC (Jan. 5, 2017), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/police-raids-india-cut-down-irs-imposter-calls.

52 See Demographics Workshop, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events-calendar/2016/12/changing-consumer-demographics.

53 Demographics Workshop video Part 2, Panel 4, at 1:02 - 2:04.

54 See https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/contests/zapping-rachel; Lesley Fair, Robocallers find themselves in a sticky situation, FTC (June 14, 2016), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2016/06/robocallers-find-themselves-sticky-situation; https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/contests/detectarobo; https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/contests/robocalls-humanity-strikes-back.

55 See Family Emergency Scams, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0204-family-emergency-scams; https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/media/audio-0052-family-emergency-scams.

56 See Prize Scams, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0199-prize-scams.

57 See Colleen Tressler, To Robocall Scammers Who Lied About Free Medical Alert Devices: We've Got Your Number, FTC (Jan. 13, 2014), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/robocall-scammers-who-lied-about-free-medical-alert-devices-weve-got-your-number; Bridget Small, Robocall Scams Push Medical Alert Systems, FTC (July 18, 2013), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/robocall-scams-push-medical-alert-systems.

58 See Aditi Jhaveri, Medicare imposters want to steal your money. Don't let them, FTC (Jan. 12, 2016), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/medicare-imposters-want-steal-your-money-dont-let-them; Colleen Tressler, Medicare 'Open Enrollment' Scams, FTC (Nov. 5, 2015), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/medicare-open-enrollment-scams; Medicare Fraud: Health Information for Older People, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0318-medicare-fraud.

59 See Andrew Johnson, Official-Sounding Calls About an Email Hack, FTC (April 5, 2016), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/official-sounding-calls-about-email-hack; Lisa Schifferle, FTC Cracks Down on Tech Support Scams, FTC (Nov 19, 2014), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/ftc-cracks-down-tech-support-scams; Nicole Fleming, Getting Your Money Back After a Tech Support Scam, FTC (Nov. 13, 2013), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/getting-your-money-back-after-tech-support-scam; Lesley Fair, At the Boiling Point About "Tech Support" Boiler Rooms, FTC (Oct. 3, 2012), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2012/10/boiling-point-about-tech-support-boiler-rooms; Tech Support Scams, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams.

60 See Carol Kando-Pineda, Veterans: Don't let scammers bilk your benefits, FTC (Nov. 9, 2015), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/veterans-dont-let-scammers-bilk-your-benefits.

61 See Government Imposter Scams, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0048-government-imposter-scams; Government Imposter Scams, FTC, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/media/audio-0053-government-imposter-scams; Amy Hebert, Scammers Continuing to Pose as IRS Agents, FTC (May 29, 2014), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/scammers-continuing-pose-irs-agents; Lisa Lake, Fake IRS Collectors Are Calling, FTC (Apr. 7, 2014), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/fake-irs-collectors-are-calling.

62 The video is available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/media/video-0132-fraud-affects-every-community-medicare-scams.

63 These videos are available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/media.

64 This video is available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/media/video-0140-using-pass-it-your-community.

65 The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services ("DHHS") convened the Elder Justice Coordinating Council in accordance with the Elder Justice Act of 2009. The Council consists of heads of federal departments and other government entities, including the FTC, identified as having responsibilities, or administering programs, relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The Council's mission is to develop recommendations to the DHHS Secretary for the coordination of relevant activities. See Facts, Elder Justice Coordinating Council, http://ltcombudsman.org/uploads/files/issues/elder-justice-coordinating-council-factsheet.pdf (last visited January 23, 2017).

66 Home Improvement Scams - Tools to Reduce Your Risk, N4A, http://www.n4a.org/Files/N4a-HI-Scams-brochure-access.pdf (last visited January 23, 2017).

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