Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, INVESTOR EDUCATION—NASAA urges Congress to Bolster State Role in Senior Financial Literacy and Anti Fraud Efforts, (Apr 24, 2026)

By Rodney F. Tonkovic, J.D.

NASAA's recommendations are part of a broader call for collaboration between federal and state authorities

NASAA has asked Congress to include state regulators in the federal government's efforts to help seniors fight fraud. In an April 22, 2026 letter to the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, the North American Securities Administrators Association highlighted what it calls an unprecedented surge in online scams that disproportionately affect seniors and other vulnerable groups. NASAA says that supporting seniors requires an effective federal response to fraud that fully integrates state securities and commodities regulators as essential partners in prevention, detection, and enforcement.

NASAA's letter notes that technology-driven scams have already reached epidemic proportions and that they are an urgent threat not only to seniors but to all Americans. Plus, sophisticated AI tools enable convincing and targeted schemes that are a leading and rapidly growing threat to investors.

The letter observes that coordinated state and federal outreach efforts (including NASAA's own educational work) have proven to be effective in warning the public and underscore the role of public education in preventing financial fraud.

State regulators. NASAA believes that an effective federal response to fraud must fully integrate state securities and commodities regulators. To that end, Congress must formally include state regulators in any federal fraud-fighting regime. NASAA's requests to Congress are meant to preserve the existing allocation of regulatory responsibilities and not to expand registration authority, and the association points out that state regulators have close relationships with financial firms and are a first-line defense against fraud.

Combating cybercrime. The letter urges the committee to build on the March 2026 Executive Order, Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens and its recognition of the need for a coordinated public response to cyber-fraud. Progress has been made, but there is room to more explicitly incorporate a substantive role for state regulators, NASAA says.

NASAA also asks Congress to more fully leverage the expertise of state regulators, for example, by creating a coordinated national anti-scam strategy led by a combined local-state and -federal task force. As Congress considers legislation implementing the Executive Order, it should ensure that local and state partners are formally integrated in the goal setting and implementation processes, efforts to combat fraud, and in securing restitution for victims.

Coordinated responses. NASAA also strongly supports federal interagency task forces to combat threats like online scams but adds that state securities and commodities regulators must be included as full participants. The early and active participation of state regulators will help achieve maximum impact while avoiding duplication and gaps in enforcement.

Building on state efforts. NASAA urges that Congress preserve and build on the state's longstanding efforts to work with industry to identify and halt fraud. For example, NASAA says that state report-and-hold laws—requiring financial professionals to report and impose temporary holds on transactions where fraud is suspected—have been adopted in 42 jurisdictions and have a demonstrated impact. NASAA encourages federal efforts to create report-and-hold frameworks.

Support for victims. Finally, NASAA pointed to state administered restitution assistance programs as an effective means of helping victims recover losses and urged Congress to preserve state authority to create and operate those programs as a core element of investor protection.

Recommendations. NASAA urged Congress to treat state securities and commodities regulators as full partners in any national strategy to improve senior financial literacy and combat fraud. The association emphasized that state regulators bring frontline enforcement experience, local market insight, and proven prevention tools that are critical to detecting and stopping fraud early. The systems developed and used by local regulators should be reinforced—rather than displaced or diluted—as Congress considers legislation and other fraud prevention frameworks.

LegislativeActivity: InvestorEducation NASAANews