S. 2544 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jul 30, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryBoosts fraud investigation funding for law enforcement
Ever wondered who investigates financial scams targeting older adults. This bill lets state, local, and tribal police use certain grant money to investigate general fraud, elder fraud, and a scam called pig butchering—where criminals trick people into sending cryptocurrency to fake investment accounts. The bill also lets federal law enforcement help with tracking tools for cryptocurrency and other digital assets, and requires the Treasury Department to study these scams and report back on what's happening across the country.
How it affects you
If you're an older adult or vulnerable to financial fraud, this bill gives local law enforcement more resources to investigate and stop scams targeting you. The federal government will also have a clearer picture of fraud trends, which can help inform future protections. Most other people won't see a direct change in their daily lives.
Read the official summary (Reported to Senate, Feb 9, 2026)
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.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 2544
A BILL
GUARD Act
Sponsor: Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) · Introduced Jul 30, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Feb 9, 2026: “Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 317.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 2 official versions.
Sections · 7
- Sec. 1Short titleNo change
- Sec. 2DefinitionsNo change
- Sec. 3Federal grants used for investigating elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraudNo change
- Sec. 4Report on general financial fraud, pig butchering, and elder financial fraudNo change
- Sec. 5Report on the state of scams in the United StatesNo change
- Sec. 6Report to CongressNo change
- Sec. 7Federal law enforcement agencies assisting State, local, and Tribal law enforcement and fusion centersNo change