The Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) launched a joint Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign addressing a nationwide telephone impersonation scheme. Social Security and the OIG continue to receive reports from across the country about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees. Calls can even “spoof” Social Security’s national customer service number as the incoming number on the caller ID. The new PSAs will air on TV and radio stations across the country to alert the public to remain vigilant against potential fraud.

Thank you,

Blanca Taylor

Public Affairs Specialist

This week, we celebrated Senior Day at the Florida Capitol. More than five million seniors call Florida home. Some are lifelong Floridians. Others moved here to retire and enjoy our warm weather, great economy and beautiful beaches.

Seniors also play an important role in our efforts to fight fraud aimed at older Floridians. In recognition of the day, I invited members of our Seniors v. Crime Program to our office to thank them for the work they do to protect Floridians.

These volunteers, called Senior Sleuths, helped recover more than a million dollars last year. They recovered an additional value of $986,327 through realized gains, such as a contractor returning to finish promised work or credits applied to a future purchase.

Protecting Florida’s seniors is a top priority of our office, and these Senior Sleuths volunteer their time to help fight fraud and protect older Floridians from scams. They are also now playing an important role on Florida’s new Senior Protection Team. Continue reading →

The week of March 10th, we celebrated Sheriffs Day at the Florida Capitol. Supporting Florida’s law enforcement community is a top priority of our office, and as the wife of a federal law enforcement agent I know intimately the risks and sacrifices involved with upholding an oath to defend others.

To say thank you, we invited sheriffs from across Florida to our office for coffee. I am grateful for the commitment these men and women make to fight crime and protect Floridians.

We had the opportunity to honor one of these heroes at the Florida Cabinet meeting. Hillsborough County Lieutenant Anthony Collins grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in Tampa and that inspired him to become a law enforcement officer.

Lt. Collins uses his personal experience to create positive relationships between local law enforcement and the community, especially youth struggling with anger management or drug abuse. Lt. Collins was joined by his family as we presented him with the Attorney General’s Back the Blue Award.

His son Anthony Jr. even spoke up at the Cabinet meeting to let everyone know how proud he is of his father. Continue reading →

Ending the opioid crisis in Florida is a top priority of our office, and this week, we received great news from the Florida Legislature. A bill to create the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse passed its first committee. The Senate Health Policy Committee voted 10-0 in favor of SB 1658.

The following day, the House companion bill, HB 875, passed the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee without a single no vote. There is not a corner of the state that has not felt the grave effects of the opioid crisis. Establishing a statewide task force solely focused on stopping opioid abuse is vital to our mission of combating the crisis and saving lives. Continue reading →

Ensuring the Safety of Our Children in Our Schools

Titusville, Fla. – Today, nearly one year after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where fourteen students and three staff members were murdered, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-45, which is focused on improving the safety of Florida schools.

“Although protecting our students is a perpetual process, there are steps we can take immediately to improve safety in our schools” said Governor DeSantis. “While we cannot bring back the innocents lost, we can honor their memory by learning from the mistakes that were made and resolving to swiftly correct all of those within our control.”

Specifically, Executive Order 19-45 does the following: Continue reading →

Tax season is here, and this week, our office issued a Consumer Alert to warn Floridians of a new phishing tactic that could wreak havoc on people preparing their taxes.

The tactic, called conversation hijacking, involves scammers accessing an ongoing email conversation and sending a new message containing a malicious link or attachment—giving the appearance that the message is from a trusted source. Victims clicking on the link or opening the attachment are then prompted to provide personal information that could be used to submit fraudulent tax returns.

Floridians should remain cautious. Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments that seem suspicious. Never share passwords or login information with anybody. Change passwords frequently—using numbers and special characters.

For more tips to guard against conversation hijacking scams, click here. Continue reading →

BORDER SECURITY: Securing the Southern and Northern border of the United States takes a combination of physical infrastructure, technology, personnel, resources, authorities, and the ability to close legal loopholes that are exploited by smugglers, traffickers, cartels, criminals and terrorists.

The Department of Homeland Security must have the tools to deter illegal immigration; the ability to remove individuals who illegally enter the United States; and the vital authorities necessary to protect national security.

These measures below are the minimum tools necessary to mitigate the rapidly growing surge of illegal immigration.

$25 billion trust fund for the border wall system, ports of entry/exit, and northern border improvements and enhancements.

Close crippling personnel deficiencies by appropriating additional funds to hire new DHS personnel, ICE attorneys, immigration judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement professionals.            Continue reading →

As we approach opening day of Legislative Session on March 5th, many bills are in drafting and over 1,600 filed by members. Of the many bills being heard in committees, I will focus on two. The Senate Education Policy Committee has passed an update to school safety expanding access to The Guardian Plan which permits more educators to volunteer for service, additional training, and background clearance to provide an added defense team of leaders already on site to provide armed response in the first three minutes in a crisis to prevent an incident from becoming a massacre like we saw last year . Time is of the essence. Seconds count. No educator is required to participate but can be considered. Thankfully over 2.8 million students safely attend school. There are full safety and prevention steps in the updated school safety plan. Another bill filed that is stirring debate is the Heartbeat Bill which will protect the unborn child who demonstrates a heartbeat. Over 60 million young lives have been extinguished since abortion rights were expanded by court ruling in 1973, more than all soldiers killed in all the wars of American history. It is time to reconsider this sensitive policy that erodes our future and our respect for human life.

We look forward to a meaningful debate for the many issues before us. Be a part of this discussion. It is your government.

Sincerely,

Dennis Baxley

Photo Credit: Governor Ron DeSantis Press Office

The Villages, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced his commitment to create a prescription drug importation program for Florida. This program will offer access to FDA-approved prescription drugs that have been imported from Canada, allowing the drugs to be sold to Floridians at a much lower cost. The Governor was joined at the announcement by Speaker Jose Oliva, Representative Ray Rodrigues and Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew.

“One of the biggest drivers of this country’s out of control healthcare spending is the cost of prescription drugs,” said Governor DeSantis. “While our prices remain high, our neighbors in Canada are spending significantly less for the same drugs. These price disparities are indefensible and inexcusable and I am ready to act. I thank Speaker Oliva for prioritizing this issue and look forward to working with him to reduce the prices of these drugs for Floridians that depend on them.” Continue reading →

President Trumps results of latest medical exam were released. Dr. Sean Conley, his physician, says Trump gained four pounds in the past year but proclaimed that he is in good health.