[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 543 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 543
Designating March 10, 2022, as ``National `Slam the Scam' Day'' to
raise awareness about pervasive government imposter scams, and to
promote education to prevent government imposter scams.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10 (legislative day, March 7), 2022
Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr.
Casey, and Mr. Warnock) submitted the following resolution; which was
considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating March 10, 2022, as ``National `Slam the Scam' Day'' to
raise awareness about pervasive government imposter scams, and to
promote education to prevent government imposter scams.
Whereas hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States are targeted
by government imposter scams each year, including Social Security-
related and Internal Revenue Service-related government imposter scams;
Whereas government imposter scams involve scammers contacting individuals in the
United States and impersonating 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 agencies that the scammers impersonate;
Whereas, since 2013, the fraud hotline of the Special Committee on Aging of the
Senate has received more than 10,000 complaints from individuals in all
50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, of which one-third were reporting possible government imposter
scams;
Whereas there were nearly 400,000 government imposter scams reported to the
Federal Trade Commission in 2021;
Whereas the Federal Trade Commission has estimated that victims lost over
$442,000,000 in government imposter scams in 2021;
Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2021, older adults
reported larger median individual losses as a result of government
imposter scams than younger adults;
Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2021, individuals in the
United States reported losing $23,150,000 to Social Security-related
imposter scams;
Whereas, in 2021, Social Security-related imposter scams represented the largest
category of complaints received by the fraud hotline of the Special
Committee on Aging of the Senate; and
Whereas increased awareness of, and education about, government imposter scams
help to thwart government imposter scammers: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates March 10, 2022, as ``National `Slam the
Scam' Day'';
(2) recognizes National ``Slam the Scam'' Day as an
opportunity to raise awareness about scams that involve
individuals impersonating government employees by any means,
including by mail, telephone, electronic mail, or internet
websites (referred to in this resolving clause as ``government
imposter scams'');
(3) recognizes that law enforcement agencies, consumer
protection groups, telephone companies, area agencies on aging,
and financial institutions all play vital roles in--
(A) preventing government imposter scams from
targeting the people of the United States; and
(B) educating the people of the United States about
government imposter scams;
(4) encourages--
(A) the implementation of policies to prevent
government imposter scams; and
(B) the improvement of measures to protect the
people of the United States from government imposter
scams;
(5) encourages members of the public to--
(A) ignore solicitations from individuals falsely
claiming to represent government agencies;
(B) share information about government imposter
scams with family and friends; and
(C) report government imposter scams to--
(i) the Office of the Inspector General of
the Social Security Administration;
(ii) the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration; or
(iii) the Federal Trade Commission; and
(6) honors the commitment and dedication of the individuals
and organizations that work tirelessly to fight against
government imposter scams.
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