02/04/26

The Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act (SCAM Act) would require major social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify advertisers and remove scam ads that deceive users, or face enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general. Each year, online scam ads siphon billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, often funneling victims’ losses through the banking system as losses that financial institutions must absorb. As fraud risks grow in sophistication, OBL has advocated for stronger protections at the national level — urging lawmakers to hold social media platforms accountable for the ads they allow.

OBL has spent months educating policymakers on how online scam ads drive fraud losses, overwhelm bank fraud-prevention systems, and devastate Ohio families. That work helped convince Senator Moreno to join this effort—despite intense resistance from powerful social media companies that have long avoided accountability for the ads they host. His decision to cosponsor this bill sends a strong signal that public safety and consumer protections can transcend party lines — especially when Ohio families and institutions are directly affected. “We can’t sit by while social media companies have business models that knowingly enable scams that target the American people,” Senator Moreno said in announcing the legislation.

The SCAM Act would:

• Require platforms to verify advertisers using government-issued identification or proof of legitimate business existence;
• Mandate swift review and removal of reported scam advertisements;
• Empower the FTC and state attorneys general to act against platforms that fail to protect users.

For Ohio banks, this legislation represents an important shift in the fraud conversation: stopping scams at their source, rather than placing the burden entirely on banks and victims after the damage is done. OBL will work to push the members of our delegation to support this legislation.