Buckeye Reporter

Jon Husted has introduced the Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act, a bipartisan and bicameral bill aimed at protecting Ohioans from financial scams driven by artificial intelligence. The legislation seeks to address the growing threat of scammers using deep fakes to impersonate victims’ family members in order to steal money.

“Scammers are using deep fakes to impersonate victims’ family members in order to steal their money.As fraudsters continue to scheme, we need to make sure we utilize AI so that we can better protect innocent Americans and prevent these scams from happening in the first place. My bill would protect Ohio’s seniors, families and small business owners from malicious actors who take advantage of their compassion,” said Husted.

The proposed act would create a task force responsible for evaluating how financial institutions can use AI technology both to prevent fraud and identify risks associated with its misuse. The group would also develop best practices for consumer protection against such crimes. Within one year of the bill becoming law, the task force is expected to deliver a detailed report on its findings to Congress.

Recent data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that losses due to fraud increased by 25% between 2023 and 2024, with more than $12.5 billion stolen from consumers last year. Criminals are increasingly turning to AI tools for generating convincing emails, phone calls, and text messages designed to trick people into believing loved ones are in danger.

Husted’s leadership on this bill follows his previous efforts related to AI policy. He recently worked with Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) on bipartisan legislation seeking to prohibit the AI platform DeepSeek—linked directly with the Chinese Communist Party—from being used on federal government devices or networks.

In addition, Husted introduced separate legislation aimed at streamlining federal regulations by employing AI tools similar to those already used successfully in Ohio for simplifying state code.

AARP has endorsed the Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act through an official letter of support.

Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) has introduced a companion version of this bill in the House of Representatives.

The full text of the bill is available here.