WASHINGTON — The call to Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s mother came from someone claiming to work for the Internal Revenue Service demanding payment for taxes. She gave out her banking information.

But after Gwenn Feldman called her son, he was able to put a hold on her account and she didn’t lose any money.

Other seniors weren’t as lucky. The Senate Aging Committee reported earlier this year that seniors lose almost $3 billion a year to financial scams.

“I go to a lot of senior centers and it’s something I hear about all the time,” said Gottheimer, D-5th Dist.

Gottheimer’s mother passed away last September, but her experience led him to propose legislation to protect other seniors.

“I kept hearing about this and obviously I have my own experience, so I wanted to do what we could do fight back,” he said.

Gottheimer’s Senior Security Act overwhelmingly passed the House on Tuesday, 392-20. It would set up a senior investor task force at the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has jurisdiction over financial crimes.

The task force would be directed to identify problems that seniors face, submit a biannual report to Congress on the subject, and make recommendations for rules changes to the SEC.

The bipartisan bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, R-Ind. Gottheimer said he was talking to senators of both parties to try to get the bill passed through that chamber.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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