Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 570
By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Polsky
597-02289-26 2026570c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Task Force on Payment Scams;
3 creating s. 17.675, F.S.; creating the Task Force on
4 Payment Scams adjunct to the Department of Financial
5 Services; requiring the department to provide
6 administrative and staff support relating to the
7 functions of the task force; defining the terms
8 “payment” and “task force”; requiring the Chief
9 Financial Officer to establish the task force by a
10 specified date; providing the purpose of the task
11 force; specifying the chair and membership of the task
12 force; providing that members serve without
13 compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel
14 expenses; providing requirements for meetings;
15 providing duties of the task force; providing
16 reporting requirements; providing for future repeal
17 and legislative review of the task force; providing an
18 effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 17.675, Florida Statutes, is created to
23 read:
24 17.675 Task Force on Payment Scams.—
25 (1) The Task Force on Payment Scams, a task force as
26 defined in s. 20.03(5), is created adjunct to the Department of
27 Financial Services. Except as otherwise provided in this
28 section, the task force shall operate in a manner consistent
29 with s. 20.052. The department shall provide administrative and
30 staff support relating to the functions of the task force.
31 (2) As used in this section, the term:
32 (a) “Payment” means any mechanism through which an
33 individual can electronically transfer funds to another
34 individual via a platform or intermediary.
35 (b) “Task force” means the Task Force on Payment Scams
36 created under this section.
37 (3) No later than October 1, 2026, the Chief Financial
38 Officer shall establish the Task Force on Payment Scams. The
39 purpose of the task force is to recognize and avert payment
40 scams by doing all of the following:
41 (a) Examining current trends and developments in payment
42 scams, identifying effective methods for preventing such scams,
43 and issuing recommendations to enhance efforts to identify and
44 prevent such activities.
45 (b) Adopting a cross-sector approach to ensure the task
46 force’s recommendations reflect the full scope of the issue,
47 given that scams impact individuals across a wide range of
48 industries, including financial services, telecommunications,
49 and technology.
50 (c) Including representation from stakeholders with direct
51 experience supporting victims of scams, as well as industry
52 participants with insight into scam tactics and prevention
53 strategies.
54 (4)(a) The task force shall be chaired by the Chief
55 Financial Officer or his or her designee and task force members
56 shall include all of the following:
57 1. The Commissioner of Agriculture or his or her designee.
58 2. The Attorney General or his or her designee.
59 3. A representative from the Division of Treasury of the
60 Department of Financial Services, appointed by the Chief
61 Financial Officer.
62 4. The Secretary of Commerce or his or her designee.
63 5. A representative from the Financial Crime Analysis
64 Center of the Department of Law Enforcement, who has experience
65 using and general knowledge of the Financial Transaction
66 Database, appointed by the Chief Financial Officer.
67 6. A representative from a financial institution who has
68 expertise in identifying, preventing, and combating payment
69 scams, appointed by the Chief Financial Officer in consultation
70 with the task force.
71 7. A representative from a credit union who has expertise
72 in identifying, preventing, and combating payment scams,
73 appointed by the Chief Financial Officer in consultation with
74 the task force.
75 8. A representative from a digital payment network who has
76 expertise in identifying, preventing, and combating payment
77 scams, appointed by the Chief Financial Officer in consultation
78 with the task force.
79 9. A representative from a community bank, appointed by the
80 Chief Financial Officer in consultation with the task force.
81 10. A representative from a consumer group, appointed by
82 the Chief Financial Officer in consultation with the task force.
83 11. A representative from an industry association
84 representing technology or online platforms, appointed by the
85 Chief Financial Officer in consultation with the task force.
86 12. Not more than five representatives appointed by the
87 Chief Financial Officer to represent scam victims, scam victim
88 support networks, and other relevant stakeholders in order to
89 better assist consumers and stakeholders.
90 (b) Members of the task force shall serve until the
91 termination of the task force. Any vacancy occurring in the
92 membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner
93 in which the original appointment was made.
94 (c) Members of the task force:
95 1. Shall serve without compensation, except that employees
96 of this state shall receive the same salaries and benefits as
97 they would without serving on the task force.
98 2. Are entitled to receive reimbursement for per diem and
99 travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061.
100 (d) The task force shall meet at least three times during
101 the 1-year period beginning on October 1, 2026, and thereafter
102 at such times and places and by such means as the chair of the
103 task force determines to be appropriate, which may include the
104 use of communications media technology.
105 (5) The duties of the task force include all of the
106 following:
107 (a) Evaluating best practices for combating scammer
108 methods, such as spoofed calls, scam text messages, and
109 malicious advertisements, pop-ups, and websites.
110 (b) Assessing how other state, federal, and international
111 jurisdictions have tried to prevent payment scams.
112 (c) Identifying and reviewing current methods used to scam
113 a consumer through payment platforms.
114 (d) Determining a strategy for education programs that
115 better equip consumers to identify, avoid, and report payment
116 scam attempts to the appropriate authorities.
117 (e) Coordinating efforts to ensure perpetrators of payment
118 scams can be identified and pursued by law enforcement.
119 (f) Consulting with other relevant stakeholders, including
120 federal, state, local, and tribal agencies and financial
121 services providers.
122 (g) Determining whether any additional legislation would be
123 beneficial for law enforcement and industry in mitigating
124 payment scams.
125 (h) Identifying potential solutions to payment scams
126 involving business e-mail compromise.
127 (6)(a) No later than 1 year after the date on which the
128 task force is established, the task force shall submit to the
129 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
130 Representatives and make publicly available online a report
131 detailing all of the following:
132 1. The results of the reviews and evaluations of the task
133 force under subsection (5).
134 2. The strategy identified under subsection (5).
135 3. Any legislative or regulatory recommendations described
136 in subsection (5) which would enhance the ability to detect and
137 prevent payment scams.
138 4. Recommendations to enhance cooperation among federal,
139 state, local, and tribal authorities in the investigation and
140 prosecution of scams and other financial crimes, including
141 harmonizing data collection, improving reporting mechanisms and
142 channels, estimating the number of complaints and consumers
143 affected, and evaluating the effectiveness of anti-scam training
144 programs.
145 (b) After submitting an initial report required under
146 paragraph (a), the task force shall submit annually to the
147 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
148 Representatives and make publicly available online an updated
149 version of the report.
150 (7) In accordance with s. 20.052(8), this section is
151 repealed October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
152 through reenactment by the Legislature.
153 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.