By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — There’s the “boiler-room� type of fraud where telephone salespeople, using high-pressure tactics, try to sell securities of questionable value to seniors who they presume won’t ask many questions.

Then there’s the “grandparents� scam, when a swindler, posing as a senior’s grandson or other relative, calls a senior, saying he or she desperately needs money.

And there’s the e-mail scam where a computer user gets an official-looking message saying that his or her bank account has been frozen — but all the user has to do is to click on a link and provide some personal information.

But whatever scam is used, in New York City, more than 200,000 seniors have been hit by fraud, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

Seniors are particularly susceptible to fraud. In part this is because many of them are losing some of their faculties; in part, because some come from a generation in which you didn’t question people who seemed “official.�

And the statewide capital of fraud against seniors is — you guessed it — Brooklyn! Approximately one out of every six seniors here has been victimized, to the tune of $21,754,266, according to figures from Gillibrand’s office, the Federal Trade Commission and the Census Bureau.

Gillibrand spoke about the problem at an online press conference in which the Eagle participated. Asked why Brooklyn could be so targeted, she answered that Brooklyn has a larger population of seniors than most areas of the state. The fact that the borough has a large proportion of foreign-born seniors may also be a factor.

Proposed New Legislation

The senator outlined several new pieces of legislation she has proposed:

Increasing penalties for people who commit fraud against seniors. Once seniors have retired, Sen. Gillibrand pointed out, they face the challenge of making their investment last. “Seniors are often offered complicated investment products such as reverse mortgages and certain annuities. While these products can be valuable to certain investors, they are often sold and offered by corrupt would-be criminals.�

Gillibrand’s Senior Investor Protections Enhancement Act would target those who commit securities violations against seniors, and would charge an additional $50,000 civil fine for each violation committed against a senior.

The second is the Senior Investor Protection Act, which would crack down on “Senior Advisor� scams. This would create a national grant program for states to protect seniors from dishonest financial advisors who “specialize� in seniors.

The third would protect Social Security and veterans’ benefits from seizure by debt collectors. More than 80 percent of Social Security benefits in the U.S., Gillibrand explained, are deposited by direct deposit — which is promoted by the Social Security Administration. But because of a loophole in federal laws, debt collectors are allowed to get court orders to garnish the bank accounts of seniors who owe money. These bank accounts may include Social Security and veterans’ benefits.

Gillibrand’s Illegal Garnishment Prevention Act would end promoting direct deposit for Social Security and veterans’ checks until the Treasury Department institutes new regulations to protect consumers. The fourth measure, the Senior Financial Empowerment Act, would raise awareness of mail fraud and online abuse tactics directed against seniors. It would direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish a “one-stop shop� for consumer education on these frauds and establish a grand program to give funds to states and local organizations to combat these abuses.

The fifth measure will take the form of workshops around the state given in conjunction with such organizations as AARP and the Council of Senior Centers. These workshops will start upstate, but will come to New York City “by the end of the year,� she said.

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