Money Issues Links

"The negative effects of past policies and a lack of economic opportunity have impacted Indigenous people for generations. I would like to acknowledge this history, but also to acknowledge that no great nation can prosper when its people are left behind. The Federal Reserve, with all of the powerful tools at its disposal, can't fully succeed unless Native people, and others that have existed on the margins of the economy, have the opportunity to become full participants. The discussions today, including those regarding access to credit for Indigenous communities, can advance this goal." more »

“The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the risk for abuse directed towards seniors who are socially isolated and vulnerable to exploitation,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “As this Annual Report demonstrates, the department has marshalled a wide array of tools – enforcement actions, research, public education and outreach, training and victim services – to combat elder abuse and to ensure that our seniors have the support and protections that they deserve.” “While technology has brought the world together in many ways, it has also opened the door to a myriad of fraud schemes that prey upon older adults,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released the first 2020 Elder Fraud Report providing information useful for targeting interventions. For example, the report found that over 100,000 persons over the age of 60 filed a complaint, with a resulting loss of nearly $1 billion, although the greatest financial losses were associated with confidence fraud/romance scams. more »

"With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. The sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have improved in recent months, but the rise in COVID-19 cases has slowed their recovery. Inflation is elevated, largely reflecting transitory factors. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses... The path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus. Progress on vaccinations will likely continue to reduce the effects of the public health crisis on the economy, but risks to the economic outlook remain." more »

The Department of Justice announced today that the Western Union Remission Fund began its third distribution of approximately $66 million in funds forfeited to the United States from the Western Union Company (Western Union) to approximately 6,000 victims located in the United States and abroad... According to court documents, in the scheme, fraudsters targeted consumers, including seniors, through multiple scams. Three specific scams directed towards seniors included the so-called grandparent scam, where the fraudster would pose as the victim’s relative in purported need of immediate money to avoid personal harm; lottery or sweepstakes scams, where the fraudster would tell the victim that he or she had won a large cash prize but had to pay fees, such as taxes, to claim the prize; and romance scams, where the fraudster would pose as an online love interest and request funds for a visit or for another purpose. In each of these scams, the fraudsters convinced their victims to send money through Western Union. more »