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The Government is Taking on Robocalls to Protect Seniors

Date: November 11, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Government is Taking on Robocalls

House lawmakers have announced a new bipartisan bill that will fight against robocalls. It’s not just that robocalls are annoying, but that many seniors fall prey to scams from these calls. That’s why the government is taking on robocalls.

Government is Taking on Robocalls

Government is Taking on Robocalls

 

The bill, called Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, hopes to outlaw a wide array of robocall practices that legitimate businesses and scammers use and will allow the government to give harsher punishments to callers who ignore the law.

Robocalls are not only frustrating, but they can overwhelm communication lines. There are five million robocalls a month. It’s not just the general public that has to deal with them; hospitals have reported an increase in robocalls too.

Plus, a lot of personal information is stolen every year from these calls. This is how many seniors end up getting scammed.

The bill would look into large telecom giants like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile and have them implement new tech to authenticate if calls are real or spam.

Read more here.

New House Bill to Protect Seniors

Date: May 27, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
How to Care for Seniors During Covid-19

There is a new house bill to protect seniors coming into play. It would help quicken the process for the elderly and disabled to acquire relief from financial exploiters. Often seniors are the target for scams and abuse due to being alone, or possibly because they might be easy to confuse.

New House Bill to Protect Seniors

What the New Bill to Protect Seniors Does

 

The bill, called HB 1807, uses New Hampshire’s existing domestic violence protective order process as the blueprint. Any vulnerable adult can submit a petition to a judge asking for immediate relief from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Under the current domestic violence order, it’s difficult for seniors to get help because they don’t always fit the profile. That’s why this new bill is coming into play. It can take months in court before any relief is given from financial exploitation. Plus, there are the legal fees which can easily get expensive.

Petitions for these type of cases can be hard to write without legal help. There’s not a user friendly form like there is for domestic violence victims. This new bill to protect seniors hopes to fix that.

It’s Not a Perfect Bill

 

There are some complaints about how the bill is written up. Some say it’s not broad enough for different types of exploitations due to how someone can file for petition.

For example, a lot of times the guardians are the ones that are abusing the senior. So if someone else, like a doctor for example, can’t file a petition, it could take a long time before anything gets done.

To that criticism, some are afraid if they open up the range too much, it could lead abusers to use the system to cause more harm.

Read more here.