REMARKS
Council Member Linda Lee introduces legislation to combat gift card scams targeting older adults
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Council Member Linda Lee introduces Intro 1078, which aims to prevent gift card scams targeting older adults by mandating chip and pin technology for physical gift cards sold in New York City. She highlights the significant financial impact of fraud on older Americans and the challenges in prosecuting perpetrators.
- Gift card scams are a common tactic used by fraudsters, with cards being easily exploited for illicit purposes.
- The legislation is inspired by a constituent, a disabled Vietnam War veteran, who lost thousands in savings to such a scam.
- The proposed chip and pin technology is already mandated for credit cards and has proven effective in preventing fraud.
Linda Lee
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Good afternoon, madam speaker, majority leader in colleagues.
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It is my pleasure to introduce legislation today in response to the growing gift card scams targeting our city's older adults.
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Americans over 60 years sixty years old lose approximately $28,000,000,000 every year to fraud.
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This is nationally.
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Gift cards are one of the most common tactics.
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Gift cards are sold on racks and pharmacies and supermarkets.
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For fraudsters, they're better than cash, more portable, and just as an anonymous.
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Once criminals have the gift card numbers, they use them to purchase goods online at stores around the world or sell or trade them in illicit marketplaces.
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Yet the vast majority of people who fall victim to scams never reported to the law enforcement.
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Most are too embarrassed or believe they won't get their money back.
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They're concerned that their caregivers or authorities might take away their autonomy.
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To make matters worse, police and prosecutors watch and convict very few of the perpetrators, many of whom are operating from overseas and are masters at identifying and manipulating their targets over the phone.
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Prevention is the best solution, and the industry can and should do more.
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Intro 1078 will prohibit the sale of physical gift cards in New York City that lack chip and pin technology.
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This basic security feature is already mandated in credit cards.
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Where it is one of the most effective ways of preventing fraud.
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In closing, I wanna dedicate this to a constituent who is a marine veteran of the Vietnam War and is a 100% disabled.
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He fell victim to one of these scams and lost thousands of his life savings.
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We can do more to protect people like him, and I hope you'll join me in this effort.
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Thank you.