Congressman Shreve Introduces Scam Prevention Bill Following a Series of Scam Attacks on Hoosiers

Greenwood, IN — With Indiana ranking number two nationwide for phishing scams, Congressman Jefferson Shreve (IN-06) introduced the Strengthening Targeting of Organized Predatory (STOP) Scammers Act to give federal law enforcement the tools needed to better combat large-scale scams. Representative Shreve will spearhead congressional efforts against scams by introducing the STOP Scammers Act.

Hoosiers have been the target of toll road scam texts and emails, making Indianapolis one of the top cities receiving toll road scam texts. Countless citizens fall victim to scams every year. According to the FBI, $16.6 billion was reported as stolen from Americans in 2024. However, the Federal Trade Commission estimates the real figure could be as high as $158 billion. Many of the losses stem from large, organized criminal networks operating across the globe. Indiana state agencies have also been the target of spam messages, with fraudulent messages claiming to be from official agencies. There is currently no clear path for federal agencies as to how to counter these large-scale foreign scam operations. 

Congressman Shreve's bill requires the Department of the Treasury to identify and designate foreign entities running large-scale scams on Americans as a Foreign Financial Threat Organization. Once designated, federal law enforcement agencies may track and seize funds sent to or from the foreign scam organization, block their access to U.S. telecom infrastructure, and take cybersecurity measures to disrupt scam operations. Shreve's bill will task federal law enforcement with recovering and redistributing seized funds back to those targeted by fraud. 

Representative Shreve said, "Hoosiers have been disproportionately targeted by these predatory scammers. There’s been no clear path as to how to counter them. Toll road fee texts, emails and phone calls are a common and costly occurrence for trusting Hoosiers. My bill sets up pathways to prevent these scams from preying on Hoosiers. This is a problem we can solve. We can better protect Americans from falling victim to fraudulent, large-scale foreign scamming operations."