Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4936

TRAPS Act

Online Payment Scams: New Federal Task Force

8 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The TRAPS Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. It is considered active, but no further hearings or votes have been scheduled at this time.

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Key Points

This bill creates a group called the Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams (TRAPS). Led by the Treasury Department, this group would bring together experts from the government, banks, tech companies, and consumer groups to find better ways to stop people from being cheated out of their money through electronic transfers.
The task force will study how scammers use fake phone calls, text messages, and dishonest websites to trick people into sending money through digital apps. They will also look for ways to help law enforcement catch the people behind these scams and study how other countries are successfully fighting similar fraud.
A major goal of the group is to create better education programs for the public. They want to make sure regular people know how to spot a scam before it happens, how to avoid it, and exactly where to report it if they are targeted.
Within one year of being formed, the task force must release a public report with their findings. They will suggest new laws or rules to help stop fraud and will continue to provide annual updates for three years to keep up with the new tricks that scammers use.