‘Scams now are costing the global economy... more than the illicit drug trade does’
WASHINGTON – In an interview on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan discussed her ReportScams.gov Act, bipartisan legislation that she introduced with Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) to establish a central portal for Americans to report scams and get help from law enforcement and federal agencies. In the joint interview with Senator Scott, Senator Hassan highlighted that scams often go unreported due to the confusing maze of federal agencies and websites to report scams.
The ReportScams.gov Act will address this problem by establishing a comprehensive Federal Scams Action Plan and create a website – ReportScams.gov – to serve as a central location for federal scams reporting, information, and assistance. This legislation stems from Senator Hassan’s ongoing, comprehensive investigation into scams that she is leading as Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee.
In case you missed it, watch Senator Hassan’s interview on CNN here and see below for some key moments:
"Our email inboxes, our phone text chains, our phone calls are filled with scams. Scams now are costing the global economy, illicit scams run by transnational criminal organizations, more than the illicit drug trade does. And when you talk to victims, they tell you that sometimes they don't report just because it's just very confusing about where to report... We need a centralized place.”
"I have constituents who lose tens of thousands of dollars in these scams. They need the money back. They need accountability... reporting it to a centralized location then gives our law enforcement at the federal level the information they need to go after the scammers and hopefully recover damages, recover money for the person who was scammed, shut down the scams, and prosecute. That's what we need to be able to do, and that's what a centralized location will move us towards.”
As Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Hassan has opened investigations into the roles that AI and voice cloning companies, federal agencies, data brokers, telecommunication companies, satellite internet providers, and online dating platforms have in protecting consumers from scams. Earlier this year,
Senator Hassan led a bipartisan Congressional hearing on ways to strengthen efforts to combat scams and secured commitments from federal agency leaders to help improve coordination with state and local law enforcement.