This bill would create the Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams (TRAPS). The Treasury Secretary must set up the Task Force within 90 days and chair it or name a designee. Members include many federal agencies (for example, the CFPB, FCC, FTC, DOJ, Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, FinCEN, NCUA), representatives from banks, credit unions, digital payment networks, community banks, consumer groups, industry associations, and up to five representatives for victims and support networks. The Task Force must meet at least three times in the first year and may meet remotely. Its duties are to study trends in electronic payment scams, review prevention practices (including spoofed calls, scam texts, malicious ads and websites), consider international approaches, recommend consumer education strategies, coordinate with law enforcement, consult state, local, and Tribal authorities, and look at business email compromise. The Task Force must deliver a public report to the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee within one year and provide annual updates. It is exempt from chapter 4 of title 5 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) and will terminate three years after it files the first report. Members who are federal employees serve without additional pay.
If enacted, the law would create a federal group that studies electronic payment scams and suggests ways to stop them. The group would include government agencies, financial companies, technology groups, consumer representatives, and victims. The group would publish a report with findings and recommendations that could influence future actions by regulators, law enforcement, and industry. There is no immediate change to rules or enforcement in the bill text; it creates a study and reporting body.
No publicly available information on funding levels, appropriations, or estimated costs is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information on supporters' statements is included in the bill text. The bill states its purpose is to examine payment scam trends, identify prevention methods, and issue recommendations to improve detection, prevention, education, and coordination among stakeholders.
No publicly available information on opposition statements is included in the bill text.