As the internet has developed, so have schemes and scammers — from foreign princes demanding money to AI phone calls impersonating loved ones. Virtual financial fraud has especially impacted seniors over the years.

When you see headlines that seniors were scammed out of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, most people assume they fell victim to one of these virtual schemes. Sometimes, though, the abusers are trusted individuals, like caretakers.

Oftentimes, financial fraud occurs alongside physical or emotional abuse. Bank employees may know their client is requesting suspicious payments or notice other abnormalities in their behavior. Even if financial employees have a way to investigate fraudulent payments, they may not have ways to confirm their client’s physical safety and well-being.

I’ve been working with the Illinois Department on Aging to solve this problem, creating a process to flag suspected fraudulent payments and take necessary steps to ensure a client’s safety.

Senate Bill 3071 creates a handful of new safety nets against financial fraud and physical abuse, allowing employees of financial institutions to step in when they notice suspicious and potentially fraudulent behavior.

This legislation would require the Department on Aging to develop an online portal where suspected abuse or fraud can be reported. Using this information, the department can involve local law enforcement as needed to ensure the safety of the suspected victim. This quells a major concern of financial employees who know their clients well but were previously unable to ensure their safety.

The bill also makes certain financial institution employees mandated reporters. As a teacher, I was a mandated reporter for many years; if I had reason to suspect wrongdoing like abuse or physical harm, I was required to report that student or family behavior to the appropriate supervisors. This measure would require financial institutions to create procedures for reporting suspicious transactions, ensuring investigations can be conducted. If the employee is wrong and was overly cautious, that means they did their job and their client is safe. If the employee is right and catches an abusive situation, the employee did their job and ended a scary situation for their client.

Finally, the bill allows financial employees who suspect financial abuse to pause transactions, notifying the customer or their family of the hold. This would allow for financial scams to be caught early and save the customer’s money.

The best part about all of this? While this legislation benefits our seniors most of all, every single one of us benefits with more oversight and care over our accounts. These extra layers of protection will ensure our hard-earned money stays in our accounts, and with prices continuing to skyrocket, we all need every penny.

Since creating the Elder Abuse Task Force with the Illinois Department on Aging in 2019, I have worked to create legislation to protect both the finances and lives of our seniors. The work has been informative and humbling, and I look forward to seeing the positive change this legislation is sure to bring.

Senate Bill 3701 is headed back to the Senate for a final vote and will then be sent to the governor to be signed into law.

State Rep. Katie Stuart represents the 112th District that includes Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. She can be reached at repkatiestuart@gmail.com.