STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3682

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 20

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.R. No. 20 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO ENACT LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE RISE IN ILLEGAL TEXT MESSAGES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the United States Congress to enact legislation to address the rise in illegal text messages.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Your Committee finds that text messages are a new method for criminals to scam consumers. It has been reported that existing spam apps are not effective at filtering text messages. Text messaging is effective for scammers because the text messages can be designated to appear harmless and allow scammers to trick consumers into giving out personal information without realizing it is happening. Once scammers obtain a consumer's personal information, they can transfer money out of bank accounts, use the consumer's identity, or sell the consumer's information to a third-party. Text messaging is also a preferred method for criminals to gain complete control over a person's phone. This measure aims to help prevent criminals from using text messages to scam consumers.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 20 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair