Rep. Atkins Introduces Legislation to Protect Older Minnesotans from Wire Transfer Fraud

Last week, I joined Senator Terri Bonoff in announcing legislation aimed at protecting older Minnesotans from wire transfer fraud.

Too many older Minnesotans fall victim to frauds and scams that can wreak havoc on their financial security. In tough economic times, a senior’s vulnerability to scams only increases. Tens of thousands of Minnesotans have been scammed by making a wire transfer — resulting in millions of dollars of loss per year. Jim Arlt, retired senior special agent with the Department of Public Safety, said that DPS received more than 100,000 complaints of wire transfer fraud over his last four years to the tune of $4-5 million in losses each year.

Scam artists often target seniors – and they use wire transfers because fraudulent activity is hard to track and law enforcement agencies have few tools to stop the fraud. Minnesotans also tend to be targeted because we’re nice, trusting people. The bill is a top legislative priority for AARP for this session.

These scams continue to be a growing problem and we need to do all that we can to combat them. This legislation is a great step forward, and while it’s simple, it will make a huge difference in preventing these types of scams.

Last year I helped spearhead an effort resulting in a new law that now requires wire transfer companies to establish a consumer education program to help warn seniors of the potential for fraud in a wire transfer. HF 194/SF 247 will help further protect seniors from wire transfer fraud by:

• Requiring wire transfer companies to confirm that the location provided by the sender is the location where the money ends up.  This is important because too often, the sender believes the money is going to help a grandchild or a friend in a particular state or country – but the money is actually being transferred to a fraud “hotspot” in a different location.

• Providing more authority to the Department of Commerce to protect consumers by increasing penalties and regulatory actions against this type of organized fraud.

• Requiring wire transfer companies to provide a confirmation of the money sent and who picked up the transaction.

• Allowing a sender to be put on a "Do Not Send" list to prevent repeated transfers.

Law enforcement officials also confirm these are some of the most underreported crimes in our state — only five percent reported — as victims of these scams tend to either be embarrassed or are elderly individuals who are fearful their families will no longer allow them to handle their own finances. Even worse, some victims are blackmailed by their scammers into sending even more money, based on threats that their family members will be contacted and told of what the victim has done. 

The bill passed out of the Commerce Committee on a unanimous bipartisan vote and is now headed to the House floor. You can watch the press conference where we announced the bill here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vesVu6bsQUs. Fox 9 and KARE 11 also did stories on the legislation which you can find here: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/21533158/fraud-schemes-target-trusting-seniors and http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=1014513.

Finally, on a more humorous note, this was an exchange (relayed to me) between two staff members talking in a Capitol elevator:

Staff member #1: "Did you see Atkins actually wore jeans and a sweater to a press conference?"
Staff member #2: "That guy's a genius. The sweater was a great move. It was a presser about scammers who target senior citizens. Really made him look compassionate, down to earth."
Staff member #1: "Yep, smart move. He's good."

Reality: I wore the sweater because I wore jeans. I wore jeans because I wore boots. I wore boots because it snowed.

Conclusion: The bar is pretty low to be labeled a genius at the Capitol.

On this or any other legislative issue, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can leave a comment below, give me a call at the Capitol at 296-4192 or email me at rep.joe.atkins@house.mn. Thank you!