Congress creates task force to study payment scams, promises public report
S. 2019 — TRAPS Act · Filed by Mike Crapo (R-ID) · 12 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a federal Task Force on Payment Scams, chaired by the Treasury Secretary, bringing together regulators (CFPB, FTC, FCC, DOJ, Federal Reserve, OCC, NCUA, FDIC, FinCEN), financial institutions, credit unions, digital payment networks, community banks, consumer groups, technology platforms, and victim advocates. The Task Force will study payment scam trends, identify prevention methods, and issue recommendations within one year; it will meet at least three times annually and submit public reports with legislative and regulatory recommendations. The Task Force terminates after three years.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is establishing a federal advisory task force to study payment scams and issue recommendations. It is a fact-finding and coordination instrument, not a regulatory or appropriations measure.
What the text implies
- Task Force composition includes private financial institutions and digital payment networks appointed by Treasury Secretary, creating potential for industry influence over scam-prevention recommendations despite consumer representation.
- No enforcement authority or funding mechanism specified; recommendations are advisory only and may not be implemented by agencies or Congress.
- Three-year sunset means findings and recommendations expire unless Congress reauthorizes, potentially losing institutional knowledge and momentum on scam prevention.
- Public reporting requirement ensures transparency, but effectiveness depends on whether agencies and platforms actually adopt recommendations.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a transparent, multi-stakeholder task force to study and combat payment scams affecting ordinary consumers, with mandatory public reporting and victim representation. It imposes no new restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies, and the cross-sector coordination and consumer education focus directly serve public safety.
Named in the bill
Treasury Secretary, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, National Credit Union Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, House Committee on Financial Services
Where it stands
12 cosponsors: 8 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
- Jun 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jun 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
10 lobbying clients named this bill on 16 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $16,130,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 5 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 91% of bills with at least one filing.
Mike Crapo, the sponsor, reported $552,275 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Meta Platforms, Inc. and Various Subsidiaries — $5,990,000 on 1 filing
- AARP — $5,300,000 on 1 filing
- Capital One Financial Corporation — $2,950,000 on 2 filings
- Electronic Transactions Association — $1,100,000 on 2 filings
- Cmfg Life Insurance Company — $240,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,297 characters) on Aug 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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