Nashville, TN – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) released the following statements after President Trump signed into law their bipartisan legislation, the Romance Scam Prevention Act, to require dating apps and services to issue fraud ban notifications to users who have interacted with a person removed from the app.
“Scammers prey on Americans looking for companionship, exploiting their trust and, in too many cases, stealing their life savings,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Romance Scam Prevention Act will put critical safeguards in place to protect all dating app users – but especially senior citizens – from fraudulent schemes. I am pleased to see President Trump sign this important legislation into law and take action to protect Americans from romance scams.”
“People turn to dating apps looking for love and connection, not to get scammed,” said Senator Hickenlooper. “Our bill puts real safeguards in place that will protect all dating app users, especially senior citizens, from harmful, fraudulent schemes. We’re glad to see our safeguards become law.”
In recent years, digital romance scams have become more common as scammers target recently widowed or divorced senior citizens. In 2023, Tennesseans over the age of 60 lost $43 million due to scams targeting the elderly, marking an 18% increase from the losses reported in 2022. Across the country, the Federal Trade Commission reported that romance scams resulted in victims losing $1.3 billion in 2022 alone.
Representative David Valadao (R-Calif.) led this legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Background
As Americans continue to go online to find meaningful relationships, scammers are following suit. These scams accelerated during the COVID pandemic when more senior citizens turned to dating sites for companionship while they were isolated from their loved ones.
When an online dating service provider becomes aware of a user committing fraudulent activity, such as illegally obtaining money, most online dating service providers immediately deactivate the fraudulent user’s account.
However, individuals who meet online often take their conversations to other communication platforms, so even when a fraudulent account is removed, an individual might not know they are still communicating with someone who has been removed from the dating platform.
The Romance Scam Prevention Act will fill this communication gap by requiring dating app platforms to send a fraud ban notification to anyone who has communicated with someone with a fraudulent account.
Click here for bill text.
Click here to read more about the red flag indicators of romance scams and how to avoid becoming a victim of a romance scam.
Click Here For The Original Source.
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