Federal Scam Recovery Efforts Lack Coordination, Report Finds

The Joint Economic Committee of Congress released a report on Tuesday stating that federal agencies cannot currently coordinate efforts to combat international cyberfraud, leaving victims with little chance of recovering lost funds.

Senator Maggie Hassan and Representative Don Beyer, the committee's ranking Democrats, issued the document. It details a yearlong investigation into global scams conducted by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE. The Associated Press obtained a copy prior to its release.

The investigation found that the government does not maintain a single record detailing the money seized from overseas scam operations or the portion returned to victims. Figures provided to the committee demonstrate the difficulty of recovery. In 2025, the FBI returned $336 million to victims. The Federal Trade Commission returned $1.83 billion during fiscal year 2025 but could not specify how much originated from overseas scam compounds. Across fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the Secret Service returned more than $770 million in seized assets from various fraud schemes.

These recoveries represent a small portion of reported losses. The FBI recorded nearly $18 billion in cyberfraud losses for Americans last year, exceeding $2 million per hour. The State Department reported that foreign law enforcement agencies it supports seized proceeds in the low hundreds of millions of dollars, directing further inquiries to the Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury departments.

The report states that State Department budget cuts ended at least one anti-scam program in Bangladesh, where local law enforcement received cyberfraud investigation training. A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report released last month, funded by the European Union, identified Bangladesh as an emerging center for scam operations. The State Department told the committee it has the tools needed to combat the threat internationally and noted that 60 employees in the United States and Asia focus on overseas scam compounds.

The committee recommends that Congress approve pending legislation requiring a unified federal strategy and creating a central reporting point for victims to report losses. The White House has also supported increased federal coordination. Several Justice Department officials told Congress that private companies should take additional steps to prevent scams. The United States has not made technology, telecommunications or financial services companies potentially liable for inadequate consumer protection, unlike the 27-nation European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore.

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

Transnational criminal organizations operate large compounds using United States technology, including AI, to execute scams against Americans, Hassan said in an email. She stated that Congress, the Administration and the private sector must all increase their efforts.