GUARD Act

SUMMARY

Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act or the GUARD Act

This bill allows state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive funds from certain law enforcement grant programs to use the funds to investigate general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, and pig butchering. Pig butchering refers to a confidence and investment fraud in which a victim is gradually lured into transferring increasing amounts of money, generally in the form of cryptocurrency, into a fake virtual investment.

The bill allows federal law enforcement agencies to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and fusion centers in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology tools.

Finally, the bill requires the Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to report on efforts and recommendations related to general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams. The bill also requires Treasury and FinCEN to report on the state of scams in the United States, including information about crimes committed, federal civil and criminal enforcement actions, and federal efforts to address the crimes.

FULL TEXT

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 2544 Reported in Senate (RS)]

Calendar No. 317 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2544

To permit State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive eligible Federal grant funds to use such funds for investigating elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraud, and to clarify that Federal law enforcement agencies may assist State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 30, 2025

Mrs. Britt (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Coons, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Moody, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

February 9, 2026

Reported by Mr. Grassley, without amendment

A BILL

To permit State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive eligible Federal grant funds to use such funds for investigating elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraud, and to clarify that Federal law enforcement agencies may assist State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

This Act may be cited as the ``Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act'' or the ``GUARD Act''.

In this Act:

Federal grant funds'' means funds received under any of the following:

(A) Title IV of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (34

U.S.C. 30103 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Economic, High-Technology, White Collar, and Internet

Crime Prevention National Training and Technical

Assistance Program''), including relating to the use of technology to solve crimes and to facilitate prosecutions (commonly known as the ``Internet of Things (IoT) National Training and Technical Assistance

Program'').

(B) Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, part 23 (commonly known as ``Justice Information Sharing

Training and Technical Assistance Program'').

(C) Section 1401 of the Violence Against Women Act

Reauthorization Act of 2022 (34 U.S.C. 30107) to a local law enforcement agency for enforcement of cybercrimes against individuals.

(D) Section 1701 title I of the Omnibus Crime

Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381), relating to developing and acquiring effective equipment, technologies, and interoperable communications that assist in responding to and preventing crime (commonly known as the ``COPS

Technology and Equipment Program'').

(A) intentional misrepresentation of information or identity to deceive an individual;

(B) unlawful use of a credit card, debit card, or automated teller machine; or

(C) use of electronic means to transmit deceptive information.

(A) authorized access to funds; or

(B) personal or sensitive information that can facilitate the theft of financial assets.

States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States.

(a) In General.--State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive eligible Federal grant funds may use such funds for investigating elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraud, including by--

(A) coordination and collaboration between State, local, Tribal, and Federal law enforcement agencies;

(B) assisting victims of financial fraud and exploitation;

(C) the use of blockchain intelligence tools and related capabilities relating to emerging technologies identified in the February 2024 ``Critical and Emerging

Technology List Update'' of the Fast Track Action

Subcommittee on Critical and Emerging Technologies of the National Science and Technology Council (the ``Critical and Emerging Technology List''); and

(D) unique aspects of fraud investigations, including transnational financial investigations and emerging technologies identified in the Critical and Emerging Technology List;

(b) Report to Grant Provider.--Each law enforcement agency and grantee that makes use of eligible Federal grant funds for a purpose specified under subsection (a) shall, not later than 1 year after making such use of the funds, submit to the Federal agency that provided the eligible Federal grant funds, a report containing--

affected such statistics; and

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the appropriate Federal banking agencies and Federal functional regulators shall, jointly, submit to Congress a report on efforts and recommendations related to general financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial fraud, and scams.

(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, in consultation with the Attorney

General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the appropriate

Federal banking agencies and Federal functional regulators, shall submit a report to Congress on the state of scams in the United States that--

(A) the number of financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial fraud, and scams committed against

American consumers each year, including--

(i) attempted scams, including through social media, online dating services, email, impersonation of financial institutions and nonbank financial institutions; and

(ii) successful scams, including through social media, online dating services, email, impersonation of financial institutions and nonbank financial institutions;

(B) the number of consumers each year that lose money to 1 or more scams;

(C) the dollar amount of consumer losses to scams each year;

(D) the percentage of scams each year that can be attributed to--

(i) overseas actors; and

(ii) organized crime;

(E) the number of attempted scams each year that involve the impersonation of phone numbers associated with financial institutions and nonbank financial institutions; and

(F) an estimate of the number of synthetic identities impersonating American consumers each year;

(A) the number of such enforcement actions;

(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of such enforcement actions;

(C) an identification of the types of claims brought against the recipients of the proceeds of financial fraud, pig butchering, elder financial fraud, and scams;

(D) an identification of the types of penalties imposed through such enforcement actions;

(E) an identification of the types of relief obtained through such enforcement actions; and

(F) the number of such enforcement actions that are connected to a Suspicious Activity Report; and

(A) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection;

(B) the Department of Justice;

(C) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(D) the Federal Communications Commission;

(E) the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

Board;

(F) the Federal Trade Commission;

(G) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network;

(H) the Securities and Exchange Commission; and

(I) the Social Security Administration.

(b) Solicitation of Public Comment.--In carrying out the report required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall solicit comments from consumers, social media companies, email providers, telecommunications companies, financial institutions, and nonbank financial institutions.

Each Federal agency that provides eligible Federal grant funds that are used for a purpose specified under section 3(a) shall issue an annual report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives containing the information received from law enforcement agencies under section 3(b).

Federal law enforcement agencies may assist State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and fusion centers in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology tools. Calendar No. 317

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 2544

A BILL

To permit State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive eligible Federal grant funds to use such funds for investigating elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraud, and to clarify that Federal law enforcement agencies may assist State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology, and for other purposes.

February 9, 2026

Reported without amendment