TRAPS Act

This bill creates a national task force to fight payment scams, like fake calls, scam texts, and malicious pop‑ups that trick people into sending money. The Treasury Department must set it up within 90 days. Members include consumer and financial regulators, law enforcement, banks, credit unions, payment apps, tech platforms, consumer groups, and voices for scam victims. The group studies how scams happen, shares best ways to stop them, and plans public education so people can spot and report scams. It will also work to improve coordination so law enforcement can track and catch scammers, and it may suggest new laws or rules if needed .

The task force must meet at least three times in the first year, publish a public report within one year of being formed, and then update it every year. The report will cover what they learned, how to teach consumers, and how to improve reporting and data sharing across federal, state, local, and Tribal agencies. The task force ends three years after it submits its first report .

• Who is affected: People using electronic payments; banks, credit unions, and payment apps; tech platforms; and law enforcement. The task force includes members from these groups and from agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, FCC, FTC, and others .
• What changes: A federal task force will identify scam tactics, set best practices, plan consumer education, and recommend ways for agencies to work together and, if needed, propose new laws or rules to fight scams .
• When: Created within 90 days of enactment; first public report within one year of being formed; yearly updates after that; ends three years after the first report is submitted .