Weekly Column: Protecting Idahoans From Payment Scams

Loss to payment scams is, unfortunately, on the rise as criminals devise increasingly creative and convincing ways to trick Americans out of their hard-earned money.  We can better equip law enforcement and regulators with the tools to go after scammers and prevent scams before they happen.  I recently introduced the Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payments Scams (TRAPS) Act that would create a task force to combat the growing issue of payment scams.

Payment scams occur when a scammer induces a victim, usually under false pretenses of investments or romance, to voluntarily send them money.  What is the scope of the problem?

• According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were $63 million in reported losses in 2024 in Idaho.

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported losses to fraud have soared 25 percent over the last year to $12.5 billion.

• The Government Accountability Office found there is no government-wide strategy to counter the scams.

In 2018, President Trump signed an executive order to create a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)-led task force to combat scams.  The TRAPS Act would further this effort by bringing together industry, law enforcement, financial regulators and telecommunication regulators to discuss best practices for identifying and preventing future scams.  While many are working to combat scams, the task force will empower partnerships that focus on collective scam prevention efforts.  Specifically, the TRAPS Act would:

• Create a task force, chaired by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and composed of the prudential regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission, FTC, DOJ and representatives from industry. 

• Direct the task force to examine the payments landscape and compile a report to recommend legislative and regulatory changes, including best practices to coordinate state, local and federal efforts.

• Require the task force to update the report annually for three years.

Many of these scams begin over social media or via spoofed phone calls and text messages, requiring a coordinated effort between the telecommunications industry and government to best shut them off and protect Americans from these losses.  A coordinated effort focused on ending payment scams is a much-needed strategy to cut off thieves’ lines of manipulation. 

As this work is underway, if you are a victim of financial fraud, the Idaho Attorney General recommends the following when suggesting where to report scams:

• Local Police (if you lost money to a scammer).

• The Federal Trade Commission protects consumers from unfair and deceptive acts and practices, and the FTC is also where you can

• report lost personal information that can result in identity theft.  You can report fraud online (at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/) or by calling (877) 382-4357, and identity theft through the FTC’s dedicated website (at https://www.identitytheft.gov/) or by calling (877) 438-4338.

• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): internet crime can be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center website (at https://www.ic3.gov/).

• United States Postal Inspection Service: scams and fraud that happen through the mail can be reported online (at https://www.uspis.gov/report) to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or by calling (877) 876-2455.

The Idaho Attorney General’s office notes about reporting scams, “It’s important to report it.  Please don’t be embarrassed.  Scammers are very good at what they do and know how to convince someone that what they are saying is true.”  I look forward to enactment of the TRAPS Act that would help empower a cooperative effort to end payment fraud. 

# # #