The petition to Congress reads:

"Scam PACs have been taking advantage of senior citizens, veterans and other Americans for far too long. Pass Rep. Katie Porter’s Stop SCAM PACs Act without further delay."

Scam PACs, which pose as legitimate political action committees but exist solely to enrich their founders, are a major problem on both sides of the aisle.

They rip people off by taking money that was intended to help support a particular candidate or cause and using it to instead line someone’s pockets.

And in some instances, when donors find out what happened, they erode trust in the political process, discouraging people from staying involved and making it harder for legitimate campaigns and PACs to raise money online.

Thankfully, progressive champion Katie Porter (D-CA) recently introduced the Stop Scam PACs Act, which would finally crack down on scam PACs and help protect political donors from being scammed.

According to Rep. Porter’s office, the Stop Scam PACs Act would "empower the Federal Election Commission to take action against fraudsters who pose as political action committees (PACs) to cheat Americans."

"Americans who want to participate in our political process should be protected from con artists trying to take advantage of them," Rep. Porter, a longtime consumer protection advocate said in a press release. "I’m proud to work across the aisle on this legislation that will protect Americans, regardless of party or ideology, from being cheated."

Sadly, as The New York Times reported in a heartbreaking story in 2021, these types of unscrupulous political fundraising schemes often victimize senior citizens and veterans.

As Cyrus Kohn, a former top digital staffer for the Republican National Committee bluntly put it, "you leverage data, technology, emotion and digital tactics to take advantage of a population."

Add your name to the petition calling on Congress to pass the Stop Scam PACs Act to protect seniors, veterans and all Americans from shady and unethical scam PAC operators.