Federal law should be changed to allow investment advisors and other financial professionals to report cases of suspected senior financial abuse without worrying they could be subjected to legal action for privacy violations, Senate Special Committee on Aging Chair Susan Collins said Wednesday.

She noted financial professionals are in a superior position to spot fraud against seniors because they have access to their clients’ bank statements and other money transactions.

The senator said she is undecided whether advisors should be required to report suspected cases of financial exploitation, adding she is leaning to a voluntary approach.

Collins claimed greater action is needed to protect the elderly because victims of senior abuse outnumber victims of child abuse by three to one and because people over 85 represent the fastest-growing demographic in the nation.

At an aging committee hearing, the chairman joined with North American Securities Administrators Association President-Elect Judy Shaw in calling for a new safety net to protect seniors.

“Social, physical and emotional isolation is becoming increasingly common, and vulnerability to financial scams is on the rise,” said Shaw, who also serves as Maine securities administrator.

When pressed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren on whether financial advisors are charging elderly clients too much, Shaw said that “it is naïve to say every advisor is working in best interest of investors.”

At the session, National Adult Protective Association Executive Director Kathleen Quinn said some prosecutors charged with looking at elder financial abuse have no training in the area.

Quinn said financial companies should be legally required by all states to report suspected instances of financial fraud without fear of violating privacy laws.

Committee Ranking Democrat Claire McCaskill said senior financial fraud is under prosecuted as well as under appropriated for because state attorneys often dismiss the crimes as “family matters.”

Another difficulty is that the declining mental ability of victims makes it hard to bring perpetrators to justice, said McCaskill, a Missourian who was a local prosecutor before she came to Congress.