U.S. congressional report urges broader anti-scam strategy as agencies show gaps and progress

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Congressional anti-scam report

Highlights

Americans lost over $260 billion to fraud in 2023, with agencies recovering only a fraction despite progress in enforcement and asset recovery.
The FTC delivered $1.83 billion in consumer relief from October 2024 to September 2025, more than double the amount in the previous year.
A congressional report urges a unified federal anti-scam strategy, centralized reporting via the ReportScams.gov Act, and stronger public-private coordination to address existing enforcement gaps.

Findings from the committee report

As reported by Joint Economic Committee, citing the Joint Economic Committee - Minority, the report says federal agencies lack a unified cross-government approach to scams and that victims still do not have a single clear place to report fraud and seek help. It draws on information provided to the committee by the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of the Treasury, along with input from outside experts and a bipartisan hearing held earlier this year.

The report says some agencies could not provide estimates for personnel and budget dedicated specifically to scam compound activity or for the consumer losses arising from those operations. It also points to friction in diplomatic and enforcement efforts, noting that while DHS and other entities raised the need for stronger coordinated international pressure on scam compounds, the State Department said it already has the tools it needs to combat the threat internationally.

The document also describes challenges in recovering stolen funds, holding scammers accountable and improving coordination with state and local law enforcement, which is often the first point of contact for victims. It adds that cooperation from private industry in scam prevention remains inconsistent, based on feedback given to the committee by a federal official.

Fraud losses keep pressure on agencies

Americans lost more than $260 billion to fraud last year, according to the FTC estimate cited in the report, while agencies still recover only a fraction of those losses. At the same time, the report highlights progress in enforcement and asset recovery that lawmakers say can be built on.

The FTC delivered $1.83 billion in consumer relief through fraud enforcement actions between October 2024 and September 2025, more than double the amount delivered in the previous 12 months, the report says. The U.S. Secret Service also returned more than $770 million to victims of various fraud schemes, including scams, through asset seizures from October 2023 to September 2025.

The report says the multi-agency Scam Center Strike Force is working with private sector entities to seize and disable U.S.-based infrastructure supporting scam compound operations. It also says the State Department is engaging with companies including Google, Meta and Starlink to share information and reduce the risk of scammers misusing their platforms.

Ranking Member Maggie Hassan says the findings support measures including a centralized reporting portal under the bipartisan ReportScams.gov Act, stronger federal law enforcement partnerships and broader public-private coordination. The release also ties the report to Hassan's wider anti-scam agenda, including a recent investigation into romance scams on Match Group platforms and newly signed bipartisan legislation requiring dating apps to notify users if they interacted with a scammer later banned by the platform.

Our earlier article on SEON’s expansion in the Philippines explored how rising digital payments and tighter fraud-control requirements are boosting demand for risk management tools. It described SEON’s partnership with Exist Software Labs as a route into traditional banks, remittance providers, and commerce clients, positioning fraud prevention vendors to support compliance and reduce scam-related losses as payment channels scale.

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