Most people are aware of the Sex Offender Registry — a publicly-available list of convicted sex offenders.

What if there was a similar list for people who’ve been convicted of elder abuse?

A federal lawmaker has introduced legislation that aims to accomplish exactly that.

From Consumer Affairs:

[Congresswoman Gwen] Graham has introduced legislation to create a national registry of people who have been convicted of abusing or scamming seniors, to make them more easily identified.

Using state of Florida data, Graham estimates that there were more than 2,500 cases of scams directed against seniors last year in her state alone. She says these crimes have risen by 74% over the last five years.

Under her proposal, the Justice Department would design a registry that states could use as a guide to develop their own lists of offenders. The lists would be public and searchable, identifying people found guilty of committing both physical and financial crimes against older people.

She notes that a few states already have such a registry. If the Justice Department created the model, she says, more states would provide the service.

Access to warnings and information about scams and scammers could help consumers avoid being victimized, officials say. While technology has made consumers more vulnerable to scams, technology may also hold the key to prevention efforts.