Daines Introduces Bipartisan Bills to Protect Montanans from Fraudulent Schemes

Press Release

U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced two bipartisan bills that would help combat fraud and scams impacting Montanans.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on enough hardships, and now Montanans are being targeted by scammers," Daines said. "It's unacceptable that travelers and Tribal members are falling victim to these predatory acts. I'm glad to work on bipartisan bills to protect Montanans and bring awareness to this issue."

The "Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act" would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide Montanans with information on how to identify and avoid travel scams and provide policy recommendations for preventing and deterring online travel booking scams.

This legislation was developed in response to recent reports of incidents involving scammers posing as travel or booking agents and creating fraudulent airline websites to sell fake hotel bookings and airline tickets.

For "Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act" text, click HERE.

The "Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act" would increase awareness and reporting of fraud and scams that target Tribal members.

According to recent data, American Indians and tribal members are at a higher risk of losing money in a scam compared to other demographics.

In April, the United States House of Representatives passed this legislation with strong bipartisan support.

For "Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act" text, click HERE.

Quote of Support:

"As the hotel industry welcomes leisure guests back for the summer, online scams targeting travelers threaten to harm consumers and ruin travel plans. Guests need to be on the lookout for misleading websites, fraudulent online ads, and deceptive search engines. These scams may lead consumer to inadvertently transact with unscrupulous actors with no relationship to the hotel they intend to book. It is critical that as Americans begin traveling again that they have confidence when booking their hotel stays," said Brian Crawford, executive vice president of government affairs at the American Hotel & Lodging Association. "The "Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act' sends a clear message that this kind of deceptive behavior won't be tolerated. We thank Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Steve Daines (R-MT) for introducing this bipartisan legislation and encourage their colleagues to join them in protecting consumers across the country from misleading and deceptive online actors."

Background:

Last month, Daines urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action to protect Montanans from travel scams.

Source