[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 543 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






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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