Protecting Older Consumers, 2019-2020 Annual Report

"As the nation’s primary consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has a broad mandate to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the marketplace.1 It does this by, among other things, filing law enforcement actions to stop unlawful practices and, when possible, returning money to consumers. The FTC also protects the public through education and outreach on consumer protection issues. Through research and collaboration with federal, state, international, and private sector partners, the FTC strategically targets its efforts to achieve the maximum benefits for consumers, including older adults.

Protecting older consumers in the marketplace is one of the FTC’s top priorities. 3 Unfortunately, in numerous FTC cases, older adults have been targeted or disproportionately affected. For example, as discussed below, the FTC has brought ten new enforcement actions this year to stop unsubstantiated claims for products that purport to treat various illnesses and conditions affecting older consumers. As the population of older adults grows, the FTC’s aggressive efforts to bring law enforcement actions against scams that affect them, as well as provide useful consumer advice, become increasingly important. 4 The 

FTC submits this third annual report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives to fulfill the reporting requirements of Section 101(c)(2) of the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017.5 The law requires the FTC Chairman to file a report listing the FTC’s enforcement actions “over the preceding fiscal year in each case in which not less than one victim was an elder or that involved a financial scheme or scam that was either targeted directly toward or largely affected elders.”,,"
Older Consumers