U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is on a mission to end digital romance scams, which have become more common as scammers target recently widowed or divorced senior citizens.
In fact, according to the Federal Trade Commission, romance scams resulted in victims losing $1.3 billion in 2022 alone.
“Scammers are merciless in their exploitation of senior citizens who join dating apps to establish meaningful connections but instead end up losing their life savings to con artists who prey on their vulnerabilities,” Sen. Blackburn said. “The Romance Scam Prevention Act would put critical safeguards in place to protect all dating app users — but especially senior citizens — from fraudulent schemes.”
The Romance Scam Prevention Act, S. 841, which Sen. Blackburn sponsored on March 4 alongside original cosponsor U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), would require online dating service providers to provide fraud ban notifications to online dating service members.
Dating apps and services would have to issue fraud ban notifications to users who have interacted with a person removed from the app for having a fraudulent account, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Blackburn’s office.
U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) is leading the effort to introduce the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Online dating has become an increasingly common way for people to connect, but unfortunately, it’s also a tool for scammers looking to take advantage of unsuspecting users,” said Rep. Valadao. “Romance scammers use fake identities to build trust and exploit their victims financially, which has cost Americans over a billion dollars per year.”
This bill, he added, would provide transparency, empower users to make informed decisions, and reinforce best practices to prevent online scams.
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