Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S.1560/A.1994) into law December 6 to protect seniors from fraudulent use of personal information by authorizing support services on identity theft through non-profit agencies and law enforcement. The legislation allows the Office of the Aging and law enforcement to recognize identity theft as one of the many forms of elder abuse and take appropriate action to help seniors. The new law adds a definition of “elder abuse and exploitation” to the elder law and incorporates identity theft in the list of eligible support services through the naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC) programs. The law also amends section 214-c of the executive law to provide that identity theft shall be one of the many forms of elder abuse that the Office of the Aging and law enforcement address in their educational materials for police officers’ use when encountering such abuse.
