Congressional Report Finds Federal Response to Cyberscams Fragmented, Leaving Victims Little Chance of Recovery

The federal government is not doing enough to confront a surge in cyberscams, and its partnerships with private companies remain scattered and voluntary, according to a report from the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. The findings come from an investigation into the global scam industry.

The report was released Tuesday by the committee's ranking Democrats, Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Don Beyer. It found that the government has no single accounting of how much money has been seized from overseas scam compounds or how much of it has gone back to victims. The Associated Press obtained the document before its release.

The report draws on a yearlong investigation into global scams by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE. It calls for stronger collaboration among federal agencies, better support for victims and deeper engagement from the private sector.

"Transnational criminal organizations run massive compounds that exploit U.S. technology, including AI, to carry out scams against Americans with devastating consequences," Hassan said in an email. She added that Congress, the Administration and the private sector must all strengthen their efforts.

The figures reported to the committee show how difficult it is for victims to recover money, even as agencies announce seizures more often. The FBI said it returned $336 million to scam victims in 2025. The Federal Trade Commission said it returned $1.83 billion to fraud victims in fiscal year 2025, but could not say how much of that came from losses tied to overseas scam compounds. The Secret Service returned more than $770 million in seized assets to fraud victims across fiscal years 2024 and 2025, though the money came from a range of fraud schemes. The State Department said foreign law enforcement agencies it supports had seized proceeds "in the low hundreds of millions of dollars," and directed Congress to the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury for details.

Together, those amounts represent only a fraction of what Americans have lost. Last year, Americans reported nearly $18 billion in cyberfraud losses to the FBI, which works out to more than $2 million an hour. Many victims never report the crime at all.

The report also raised concern that State Department cutbacks ended at least one anti-scam program in Bangladesh, which had trained local law enforcement to investigate cyberfraud. A report last month by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, funded by the European Union, described Bangladesh as an emerging hub for scam operations. The State Department, which says 60 employees in the U.S. and Asia spend significant time on overseas scam compounds, told the committee it "has the tools it needs to combat the threat internationally."

The report urges Congress to pass pending legislation that would require a unified federal strategy against scams and create a central place for victims to report losses and seek help. The White House has also supported greater federal coordination.

On the private sector, several Justice Department officials told Congress that companies should do more to prevent scams. U.S. regulators and lawmakers have not yet set clear incentives for that, however. Unlike the 27-nation European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore, the United States has not moved to make technology, telecommunications or financial services companies potentially liable when they fail to adequately protect consumers.

Kate Griffin, a director at the Aspen Institute's financial security program, said there has been important progress but that the country still lacks "durable, sustainable scam prevention." She said, "We don't see that showing up yet in reduced victimization. And that's what really needs to happen."