OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Senator Vin Gopal is introducing new legislation that would help protect senior citizens from fraud schemes and identity theft by directing the Commissioner of Human Services to issue an annual notice on fraud and identity theft.

Under the bill (S2616), this notice would provide any information needed to alert a senior citizen about the different ways in which they may be contacted for or lured into information or funds for a fraudulent purpose, and the ways to prevent the loss of funds or identity theft.

The notice would be prepared by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

The bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services, at a minimum, to distribute the notice to: members of the public (by request); and any senior-serving organization that is contracted by or receives State funding from the Department of Human Services (DHS). In the latter case, any such organization would be directed to disseminate this notice to senior citizens in the course of its business. The Commissioner would also be required to post a copy of the notice on the DHS website.

“Our senior citizens are among the most vulnerable to scams, fraud schemes, and identity theft,” said Gopal (D-Long Branch). “We need to make sure that every New Jersey senior is well-informed and well-armed to protect their finances, their assets, and their loved ones from bad actors who would take advantage of them.”