A resolution designating March 5, 2020, as "National 'Slam the Scam' Day" to raise awareness about the increasing number of government imposter scams, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent government imposter scams, and to encourage the improvement of protections from government imposter scams for the people of the United States.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 535 Designating March 5, 2020, as ‘‘National ‘Slam the Scam’ Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of government imposter scams, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent government im- poster scams, and to encourage the improvement of protections from government imposter scams for the people of the United States. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 5, 2020 Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. MCSALLY, and Mr. CASEY) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating March 5, 2020, as ‘‘National ‘Slam the Scam’ Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number of government imposter scams, to encourage the imple- mentation of policies to prevent government imposter scams, and to encourage the improvement of protections from government imposter scams for the people of the United States. Whereas millions of individuals in the United States are tar- geted by scams each year, including government imposter scams, such as the Social Security impersonation scam and the Internal Revenue Service impersonation scam, sweepstakes scams, romance scams, computer tech sup- port scams, grandparent scams, debt scams, home im- VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR535.ATS SR535 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 535 ATS provement scams, fraudulent investment schemes, and identity theft; Whereas, since 2013, the fraud hotline of the Special Com- mittee on Aging of the Senate has received more than 9,500 complaints from individuals in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico reporting possible scams; Whereas government imposter scams involve criminals con- tacting individuals in the United States and imper- sonating employees of government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, to demand payment or personal information, which defrauds individuals of the United States and erodes trust in the government agen- cies that the criminals impersonate; Whereas, since 2014, fraud from government imposter scams has been the top fraud type reported to the Federal Trade Commission; Whereas there were nearly 390,000 government imposter scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019; Whereas the Federal Trade Commission has estimated that victims lost nearly $153,000,000 to government imposter scams in 2019; Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2018, older adults reported larger median individual losses as a result of government imposter scams than younger adults; Whereas, in 2019, the fraud hotline of the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate received more than 5 times the number of Social Security impersonation scam complaints than that hotline received in 2018; VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR535.ATS SR535 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 535 ATS Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission— (1) individuals in the United States reported losing nearly $38,000,000 to the Social Security impersonation scam in 2019; and (2) in 2018, the Social Security impersonation scam contributed to an increase from 2017 in median financial losses reported by older individuals of the United States; and Whereas increased awareness of, and education about, gov- ernment imposter scams help to thwart government im- poster scammers: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) designates March 5, 2020, as ‘‘National 2 ‘Slam the Scam’ Day’’; 3 (2) recognizes National ‘‘Slam the Scam’’ Day 4 as an opportunity to raise awareness about scams 5 that involve individuals impersonating government 6 employees by mail, on the phone, or online (referred 7 to in this resolving clause as ‘‘government imposter 8 scams’’); 9 (3) recognizes that law enforcement agencies, 10 consumer protection groups, area agencies on aging, 11 and financial institutions all play vital roles in— 12 (A) preventing government imposter scams 13 from targeting the people of the United States; 14 and 15 (B) educating the people of the United 16 States about government imposter scams; 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR535.ATS SR535 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 535 ATS (4) encourages— 1 (A) the implementation of policies to pre- 2 vent government imposter scams; and 3 (B) the improvement of measures to pro- 4 tect the people of the United States from gov- 5 ernment imposter scams; 6 (5) encourages members of the public to— 7 (A) hang up on calls from individuals 8 falsely claiming to represent government agen- 9 cies; 10 (B) share information about government 11 imposter scams with family and friends; and 12 (C) report government imposter scams 13 to— 14 (i) the Inspector General of the Social 15 Security Administration; 16 (ii) the Treasury Inspector General 17 for Tax Administration; or 18 (iii) the Federal Trade Commission; 19 and 20 (6) honors the commitment and dedication of 21 the individuals and organizations who work tirelessly 22 to fight against government imposter scams. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR535.ATS SR535 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS