Investment Fraud Program Aimed at Reporting Elderly Victimization

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Twenty-four securities regulators across the U.S. will announce Wednesday during a live phone-based news conference that they have joined a national program aimed at reporting investment fraud abuse in older adults.

The Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention Program targets thousands of U.S. medical professionals, teaching them how to spot older Americans who may be particularly vulnerable to investment fraud abuse and then to refer them to state securities regulators.

According to the 2010 Investor Protection Trust Elder Fraud Survey, 7.3 million older Americans—one out of every five citizens over the age of 65—already have been victimized by a financial swindle.

The Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention Program is a collaboration between the Investor Protection Trust, the Investor Protection Institute, the North American Securities Administrators Association, and the National Adult Protective Services Association in cooperation with leading U.S. medical associations, including the American Geriatrics Society and the National Association of Geriatric Education Centers. This program was created by the Baylor College of Medicine with grant funding from the Investor Protection Trust and was operated as a test pilot program in Texas.

Participating states include: Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web as of 4 p.m. EST on November 17 at https://www.investorprotection.org.

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