III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 535 

Designating March 5, 2020, as ‘‘National ‘Slam the Scam’ Day’’ to raise 

awareness about the increasing number of government imposter scams, 

to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent government imposter scams, and to encourage the improvement of protections from 

government imposter scams for the people of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 5, 2020 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. MCSALLY, and Mr. CASEY) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating March 5, 2020, as ‘‘National ‘Slam the Scam’ 

Day’’ to raise awareness about the increasing number 

of government imposter scams, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent government imposter 

scams, and to encourage the improvement of protections 

from government imposter scams for the people of the 

United States. 

Whereas millions of individuals in the United States are targeted by scams each year, including government imposter 

scams, such as the Social Security impersonation scam 

and the Internal Revenue Service impersonation scam, 

sweepstakes scams, romance scams, computer tech support scams, grandparent scams, debt scams, home imVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Mar 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR535.ATS SR535

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 535 ATS 

provement scams, fraudulent investment schemes, and 

identity theft; 

Whereas, since 2013, the fraud hotline of the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate has received more than 

9,500 complaints from individuals in all 50 States, the 

District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico reporting possible scams; 

Whereas government imposter scams involve criminals 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 criminals impersonate; 

Whereas, since 2014, fraud from government imposter scams 

has been the top fraud type reported to the Federal 

Trade Commission; 

Whereas there were nearly 390,000 government imposter 

scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 

2019; 

Whereas the Federal Trade Commission has estimated that 

victims lost nearly $153,000,000 to government imposter 

scams in 2019; 

Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission, in 

2018, older adults reported larger median individual 

losses as a result of government imposter scams than 

younger adults; 

Whereas, in 2019, the fraud hotline of the Special Committee 

on Aging of the Senate received more than 5 times the 

number of Social Security impersonation scam complaints 

than that hotline received in 2018; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 535 ATS 

Whereas, according to the Federal Trade Commission— 

(1) individuals in the United States reported losing 

nearly $38,000,000 to the Social Security impersonation 

scam in 2019; and 

(2) in 2018, the Social Security impersonation scam 

contributed to an increase from 2017 in median financial 

losses reported by older individuals of the United States; 

and 

Whereas increased awareness of, and education about, government imposter scams help to thwart government imposter scammers: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates March 5, 2020, as ‘‘National 

3 ‘Slam the Scam’ Day’’; 

4 (2) recognizes National ‘‘Slam the Scam’’ Day 

5 as an opportunity to raise awareness about scams 

6 that involve individuals impersonating government 

7 employees by mail, on the phone, or online (referred 

8 to in this resolving clause as ‘‘government imposter 

9 scams’’); 

10 (3) recognizes that law enforcement agencies, 

11 consumer protection groups, area agencies on aging, 

12 and financial institutions all play vital roles in— 

13 (A) preventing government imposter scams 

14 from targeting the people of the United States; 

15 and 

16 (B) educating the people of the United 

17 States about government imposter scams; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 535 ATS 

1 (4) encourages— 

2 (A) the implementation of policies to pre3 vent government imposter scams; and 

4 (B) the improvement of measures to pro5 tect the people of the United States from gov6 ernment imposter scams; 

7 (5) encourages members of the public to— 

8 (A) hang up on calls from individuals 

9 falsely claiming to represent government agen10 cies; 

11 (B) share information about government 

12 imposter scams with family and friends; and 

13 (C) report government imposter scams 

14 to— 

15 (i) the Inspector General of the Social 

16 Security Administration; 

17 (ii) the Treasury Inspector General 

18 for Tax Administration; or 

19 (iii) the Federal Trade Commission; 

20 and 

21 (6) honors the commitment and dedication of 

22 the individuals and organizations who work tirelessly 

23 to fight against government imposter scams. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS