TRAPS Act

Key Points

• Congress is considering a plan to create a special team called the Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams. This group would bring together experts from the Treasury, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission to find better ways to stop criminals from stealing money through apps and online transfers.
• The task force will look at common tricks used by scammers, such as fake phone calls, text messages, and misleading online ads. They will also study how other countries are successfully stopping these crimes and look for ways to help law enforcement catch the people responsible for stealing from Americans.
• A major goal of the group is to create better education programs so regular people can spot and report scams before they lose money. The team will include representatives from banks, tech companies, and consumer groups, as well as people who have actually been victims of these scams to ensure the solutions work for real families.
• Within one year of starting, the group must release a public report with recommendations for new laws or rules to make digital payments safer. This is meant to address the growing problem of high-tech fraud that costs people and companies billions of dollars every year.