By the Numbers: 1 in 5

One out of every five Americans over the age of 65 has reported being a victim of a financial scam. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will help put an end to the kind of unscrupulous financial practices that target our senior citizens.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created as part of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to protect all consumers, especially the most vulnerable groups, from abusive and scam-ridden tactics. In addition to regulating large banks financial industries like those whose unchecked risk-taking and shady practices led to the financial crisis, CFPB will establish and enforce rules that ensure other types of services like payday lenders, mortgage lenders, and debt collectors don’t build their businesses around taking advantage of consumers.

President Obama has nominated Richard Cordray to direct CFPB. His confirmation will allow the bureau to exercise its full authority and protect borrowers from unfair, deceptive or abusive financial practices, regardless of the type of bank, business or industry that uses them. Republicans in the Senate, however, refused to even vote on Cordray’s nomination this week, leaving Americans at risk of falling prey to many of the harmful practices that contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.