Gillibrand Statement on GUARD Act Passing Out Of Committee

Gillibrand Statement on GUARD Act Passing Out Of Committee

Feb 5, 2026

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, released the following statement on the passage of her legislation, the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception (GUARD) Act, out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Today's committee passage brings us one step closer to giving law enforcement agencies the tools they need to protect seniors from financial frauds and scams.

As the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, I know how devastating these scams can be for older adults and their families. In the past few years, bad actors have increasingly leveraged technology like artificial intelligence and the blockchain to rob older adults of their hard-earned savings. That is unacceptable.

I am proud to see this legislation move forward, and I will keep working across the aisle to make sure that older Americans are protected from financial exploitation."

The GUARD Act would allow grantees of several existing federal grant programs to use funds to increase resources and personnel specifically to utilize the blockchain for investigating financial fraud. It would also permit federal law enforcement to assist state and local law enforcement with tracing tools for blockchain technology, bolstering their ability to catch fraudsters who use cryptocurrency to facilitate their crimes.

According to the FBI, seniors lost over $4.8 billion to scammers in 2024, with an average loss of $83,000. Cryptocurrency was used to facilitate the crime in over 30,000 reports of fraud against seniors, resulting in a net loss of about $2.84 billion - over half of the total. Older Americans are by far the most vulnerable and susceptible to cryptocurrency fraud, with over 10,000 more complaints referencing cryptocurrency than any other age group.

Senator Gillibrand has worked to prevent financial fraud throughout her time in office. As ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, she has led the fight to protect seniors from frauds and scams, raised awareness about predatory scammers targeting seniors, and demanded answers from those attempting to cut funding for agencies like the CFPB. She has also introduced legislation such as the National Strategy for Combating Scams Act, the Stop the Scammers Act, the Senior Financial Empowerment Act, and the DO NOT CALL Act, as well as the SNAP Theft Protection Act, the core of which was passed into law in 2022.

The full text of the GUARD Act is available here.

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