Online Perspective: Time to Combat Internet Fraudsters
In an increasingly digital world, the threat of payment scams has become a national concern. These scams, often involving fraudulent digital payments, have resulted in Americans losing billions of dollars annually and have led to hundreds of thousands of complaints to law enforcement agencies like the FBI.
To combat this growing problem, a bipartisan group of senators has introduced the TRAPS Act (Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams Act) in 2025. The Act aims to establish a federal task force that will bring together key government agencies such as the Treasury and Justice Departments, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with representatives from the consumer finance industry.
The primary role of this task force is to investigate payment scams, recommend new legislation and regulations, and enhance coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to effectively address these scams. By recognising that the issue crosses technology, financial services, and telecommunications sectors, the task force will strengthen cooperation between regulators, law enforcement, and the private sector to coordinate a crackdown on scam operations.
The TRAPS Act targets scams that involve tactics such as fake messages from government agencies, banks, social media platforms, or impersonating relatives to trick victims into sending money. Scammers have even been known to use artificial intelligence to mimic the voice of a loved one in these scams. Seniors are often targeted, with scammers posing as family members in distress, asking for money to be sent urgently.
Scammers also use tactics like 'DMV scams', threatening to suspend driver's licenses due to unpaid tolls, following a series of 'toll road scams' earlier in the year where drivers were falsely accused of having unpaid toll balances.
The TRAPS Act is supported by groups representing victims (like the AARP) and groups representing business (like the American Bankers Association). It is an important first step in the fight against payment scams, but a task force alone is not enough to solve the problem.
In 2024, New Yorkers reported approximately 280,000 cases of fraud and scams to the Federal Trade Commission. The Act, if passed, could potentially reduce this number significantly.
The TRAPS Act is sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, including Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. Other members of Congress are encouraged to support the Act, and it is important for all citizens to demand its passage.
The TRAPS Act aims to keep Americans safe, especially seniors, and restore trust in the nation's marketplaces. It is, indeed, a significant step towards protecting consumers and enhancing enforcement against increasingly sophisticated scam operations in the digital payments space. However, the only people who could potentially oppose the TRAPS Act are the scammers themselves.
In July 2021, New York state issued a warning about scammers pretending to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles. The Act, if passed, could potentially prevent such incidents in the future.
Payment scams have been estimated to take away over $12.5 billion annually from Americans, with a 25% increase in the last year. The TRAPS Act, if passed, could help reduce this staggering figure.
In summary, the TRAPS Act establishes a dedicated task force to recognize, investigate, and avert digital payment scams by coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies and private sector stakeholders, aiming to protect consumers and enhance enforcement against increasingly sophisticated scam operations in the digital payments space.
- The TRAPS Act, if passed, could potentially reduce the number of personal-finance related complaints reported to law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, in the general-news sector.
- In the realm of personal-finance, the establishment of the TRAPS Task Force (Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams Act) aims to combat crime-and-justice issues like payment scams through investigations, legislation recommendations, and improved coordination among various federal agencies and the consumer finance industry.
