HARRISBURG – Sen. Chris Gebhard (R-48) is highlighting efforts by state government and the private sector to adopt proactive solutions that protect seniors from the growing problem of elder financial exploitation.
Gebhard was joined by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday at a news conference today to discuss ongoing initiatives to protect seniors from increasingly sophisticated scams, while emphasizing the importance of collaboration, education, awareness and reporting suspicious activity.
“Older Pennsylvanians are being targeted by scammers at an alarming rate, often resulting in the loss of savings they may never recover,” Gebhard said. “Instead of simply responding after the crime has occurred, we need to take proactive steps like empowering financial institutions to prevent transfers before it’s too late. Older Pennsylvanians are among our most vulnerable citizens, and we must do more to protect their finances and allow them to age with both dignity and financial security.”
“We have a duty to protect older Pennsylvanians from criminals and scammers who continue finding new ways to exploit vulnerable consumers,” Attorney General Sunday said. “By strengthening collaboration, increasing public awareness and pursuing bad actors, we can better protect seniors, prevent devastating financial losses and hold accountable those who prey on our communities.”
“Every day, hardworking Pennsylvania seniors are at risk of losing their savings to increasingly sophisticated financial scams,” said Clem Rosenberger, president and CEO of NexTier Bank. “We urge lawmakers to act to give banks clear, common-sense tools to stop elder fraud in its tracks. These authorities would allow banks to temporarily hold transactions suspected of fraud, engage trusted family members and assist law enforcement. Enacting an elder financial exploitation statute in the commonwealth is a vital step to protect our most vulnerable customers and preserve trust in the financial system.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, while younger people report losing money to scammers, reports of losses in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars are much more likely to be filed by older adults. From 2020 to 2024, the number of reports from older adults who lost $10,000 or more quadrupled, while reports of losses of more than $100,000 increased by nearly 700%.
The FBI ranked Pennsylvania ninth in total losses to fraud experienced by older adults in 2025. More than 7,000 seniors were defrauded of more than $200 million, representing a 43% jump from 2024.
With more Pennsylvanians falling victim to scammers every year, Gebhard and Sen. Sharif Street (D-3) introduced Senate Bill 738, which would provide additional protection to seniors, empower financial institutions to intervene in suspicious transfers and streamline services provided to older adults. Speakers at today’s event discussed the importance of strengthening protections for older adults and increasing coordination to help detect scams before significant financial losses occur.
The Office of Attorney General continues to prioritize protecting consumers, especially seniors, through enforcement efforts aimed at preventing fraud and financial exploitation. In 2025 alone, Pennsylvanians reported more than $76 million in scam-related losses to the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Video of the news conference can be found here.
SEN. GEBHARD CONTACT: Alex Gamble
ATTORNEY GENERAL SUNDAY CONTACT: Huntre Keip