The initiative directly targets concerns highly relevant to U.S. banks and credit unions, including the proliferation of fraud on payment platforms and the escalating threats posed by AI.

Hassan's office also released an issue brief outlining the impact of financial scams and launched a public survey to gather information.

Hassan said in the press release that the effort would seek to "ensure that both government and businesses step up efforts to fight fraud."

Hassan also promised committee investigations into fraud on payment platforms and the exploitation of AI technologies for illicit gains.

Implications for financial institutions

Hassan said that the initiative would "examine ways to prevent the proliferation of fraud on payment platforms and through spam calls and texts," as well as probe the role of AI in scams.

The Democratic minority of the Joint Economic Committee "will be launching investigations and driving action that will protect Americans and finally take on scams in a comprehensive manner," Hassan said in a press release.

Previous congressional scrutiny of payment platforms has focused on Zelle, which as a product of Early Warning Services is operated by large U.S. banks. Democratic senators have also sent letters to PayPal (the parent company of Venmo) and Block (which owns Cash App) to express alarm over scams on the platforms and urge better reimbursement policies.

Hassan's announcement foreshadows a legislative focus on mandating stronger safeguards and fostering greater collaboration across sectors. The nonprofit Global Anti-Scam Alliance, like others, has also emphasized the importance of increasing "shared, secure data across industries" to improve scam controls globally.

Another potential concern is the recovery rate for victims. Only 4% of scam victims worldwide managed to recover their losses in 2024, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.

Hassan's issue brief also highlights artificial intelligence as a major accelerant for scams, "dramatically increasing scammers' ability to defraud their targets," the document said.

AI enables fraudsters to quickly identify and collect victim details, creating "tailor-made scams" and sending "a high volume of individualized, professional-sounding messages through text, email and calls."

Existing data collection

Hassan's announcement came with the launch of a survey that seeks detailed victim accounts including age group, initial contact method, scam type, money lost and recovered, personal information shared and entities contacted.

Federal agencies already extensively collect and report such data, much of which her office cited in the issue brief accompanying Thursday's announcement.

For instance, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, serves as a primary hub for the public to report cyber-enabled crime and fraud, receiving over 9 million complaints since its founding.

In its 2024 report, IC3 recorded a record $16.6 billion in losses from cyber-enabled fraud. The IC3's annual report details crime types, including phishing and spoofing, extortion, investment scams, tech support, business email compromise and confidence/romance scams. It specifically notes that cryptocurrency was the top reported transaction type for funds lost, totaling $9.3 billion in 2024.

The IC3 also tracks complaints and losses by age group, highlighting that those over 60 suffered the most losses in 2024, totaling $4.885 billion from 147,127 complaints.

Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, compiles consumer reports through its Consumer Sentinel Network, a database accessible to law enforcement.

In its 2024 report, the Sentinel Network received 6.5 million consumer reports, with people reporting over $12 billion lost to fraud. The FTC's data indicates that bank transfers and payments constituted the highest aggregate losses, amounting to $2.09 billion, followed by cryptocurrency at $1.42 billion.

Imposter scams topped the FTC's list of reported fraud categories, with victims losing $2.95 billion.

The IC3 and FTC reports both extensively categorize scams by contact method (e.g., phone call, text, email and social media) and track losses. They also detail the prevalence of various scam types, aligning with the categories in Senator Hassan's survey.