DES MOINES, IA — Representatives Zach Nunn (IA-03) and Jim Himes (CT-04) today (Tuesday) introduced the Taskforce for Recognizing and Averting Payment Scams (TRAPS) Act, bipartisan legislation to protect Americans, especially seniors, from payment fraud by creating a coordinated federal task force dedicated to preventing scams. In a news release, Nunn said “Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, and too often, Iowa families—especially seniors—are the ones paying the price. In just the past year, Iowans lost over $52 million to scams ranging from fake investments to romance cons. The TRAPS Act brings law enforcement, regulators, and industry together to stop these criminals before they strike and gives victims a better chance at justice.”

Payment scams, fraudulent schemes in which bad actors manipulate victims into voluntarily sending money, are rising at an alarming rate. Iowans reported more than 3,900 fraud complaints last year, with losses exceeding $52 million across a range of scam types. In 2024 alone, the U.S. experienced a 25% increase in fraud from the previous year – underscoring the urgent need to address this growing concern.  Hines said in the news release:

“Congress should be focused on passing legislation that makes a real impact on our constituents. That’s why I’m proud to join Congressman Nunn in introducing the TRAPS Act, which will save Americans money by streamlining federal efforts to prevent payment scams. Families lose billions of dollars each year to fraudulent schemes, and I hope to see this legislation passed quickly into law so that we can move towards more meaningful protection for our constituents.”

Nunn says criminals are exploiting new technologies to reach more victims with emotionally manipulative schemes, such as romance or investment scams. In January 2025, the Iowa Department of Public Safety issued an alert warning of a resurgence of “grandparent scams”, where fraudsters pose as grandchildren to manipulate elderly Iowans into urgent money transfers. Currently, there is no unified federal strategy to disrupt these scams before they occur, leaving local law enforcement and families with limited resources to respond after the damage is done.

The TRAPS Act addresses this growing threat by:

• Establishing a task force led by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and composed of members from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and other federal agencies
• Including representatives from financial institutions, credit unions, digital payment networks, consumer groups, scam survivor advocates, and the tech sector
• Requiring the task force to examine fraud trends, coordinate prevention efforts across agencies, and propose legislative or regulatory solutions
• Issuing annual reports for three years to guide federal action and improve victim support services

In addition to the Iowa Bankers Association and AARP, the bill is endorsed by Early Warning Services, the Electronic Transactions Association, Iowa Credit Unions, American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, the Defense Credit Union Council, and America’s Credit Unions. The TRAPS Act is led in the Senate by Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who introduced companion legislation, S. 2019.

Text of the bill can be found here.