State AG urges passing of bill to help banks stop fraud

Senate committee approved legislation; awaits full Senate vote

HAZLETON -- The General Assembly should enact legislation allowing bank employees to pause transactions if they suspect fraud is involved, Attorney General David Sunday said at a Monday legislative hearing in Hazleton.

In wide-ranging testimony at a hearing devoted to criminal trends, Sunday touted the merits of Senate Bill 738, which would allow bank employees to place a seven-day hold on transactions they believe could involve fraud. The legislation also allows bank officials, older adult protective services or law enforcement to extend the hold by 15 days by providing a written explanation justifying the extension.

The legislation was approved unanimously by the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on July 30. It is now on Senate consideration ahead of a possible final floor vote by the full Senate when lawmakers return to the Capitol in September.

Similar legislation took effect in Georgia on July 1. At least 33 states have similar laws in place.

"Senate Bill 738 would help stop fraud before it happens by empowering financial institutions to put holds on transactions they believe could be fraudulent," Sunday said in written testimony. "That pause is critical to allow a potential victim to realize they are being defrauded of their money because once it's gone it is gone."

The movement comes as the volume and monetary value of financial scams targeting older adults has exploded.

Almost 7,100 Pennsylvania older adults were bilked out of almost $216 million through online scams last year, according to federal data. The number of older adults scammed was up 12% in 2025 compared to 2024 and the monetary value lost by them in scams was up 44%.

Sunday told lawmakers his office created an elder exploitation unit to confront the problem but investigators in that department are "already overwhelmed with cases."

Sunday said that as attorney general, and earlier as York County district attorney, he has seen "unbelievably tragic cases" in which people who are unaware they were being scammed "literally give away all the money that they have in the bank account and that money rarely ever is returned to them."

Sunday and other prosecutors at the hearing said a common scam involves people claiming to be law enforcement officials contacting older adults and demanding payment for supposedly imprisoned relatives.

This type of government impersonation fraud accounted for $10.66 million in scam losses reported by older adults in Pennsylvania in 2025, up 22% from 2024. Romance-related scams accounted for almost $20.2 million in losses last year.

However, investment scams accounted for the largest chunk of the monetary losses reported by older adults in 2025 and is also the fastest-growing type of online financial fraud targeting them.

Older adults lost more than $98 million in investment scams in 2025, a 75% increase over 2024.

In addition to the other requirements, SB738 directs the Department of Banking and Securities to develop a training program to help bank workers identify indications that a transaction is fraud-related.

Reporting requirement

The banking and securities department would also be required to compile an annual report listing:

– The number of reports of suspected fraud stopped

– The average time it took for law enforcement or older adult protective services to respond to a bank's alert about suspected fraud

– The number of transactions and the monetary value involved; the number of transactions that were confirmed as fraud

– The number and value of transactions that were eventually allowed to go through after officials determined they were not fraudulent

New telemarketing protections

The proposal to allow banks to intervene to halt suspicious transactions is just the latest effort to protect residents from the proliferation of online and telephone scams.

Legislation signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro on July 20 as Act 47 sets new limits for telemarketers including barring telemarketing calls after 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and barring them entirely on Sundays and legal holidays.

The legislation also bars telemarketers from using spoof phone numbers and mandates that solicitation texts include an option for people to opt out to avoid receiving additional texts.

Act 47 goes into effect in October.