The House Commerce Committee should investigate phone scams,...

The House Commerce Committee should investigate phone scams, two top Democrats told the committee’s Republican leadership. “Fraudulent telephone schemes have increased in recent years, as technology has enabled swindlers to initiate millions of phone calls at once, often tricking people into turning over sensitive information or shutting down important phone systems,” wrote committee ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairwoman Diana DeGette, D-Colo., in a letter released Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/1dLHIFO). “These schemes are widespread because they are lucrative, easy to initiate, and inexpensive to carry out.” The committee should hold a hearing looking at “the prevalence and impact” of such schemes, how they affect older Americans, how they influence the delivery of essential public services, and “statutory changes, best practices, or educational campaigns, if any, needed to help federal agencies, other public sector groups, and individuals protect themselves against these schemes,” according to the letter.