Congress report finds U.S. response to global cyberscams fragmented as Americans lose nearly $18 billion a year
A new Joint Economic Committee report led by Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Don Beyer finds the U.S. response to global cyberscams fragmented and voluntary, as Americans reported nearly $18 billion in cyberfraud losses last year with no centralized accounting of seized or returned funds.
What happened
A report released Tuesday, October 27, 2026, by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress concludes that federal efforts against surging cyberfraud are falling short, with private-sector collaboration described as "fragmented and voluntary," according to The Independent. The report was led by the committee's ranking Democrats, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, and found that the U.S. government keeps no centralized accounting of funds seized from overseas scam compounds or returned to victims. Americans reported nearly $18 billion in cyberfraud losses to the FBI last year, a figure the report characterizes as more than $2 million an hour, and many victims are believed never to report the crime at all.
Hassan, in an email quoted by both The Independent and CNBC TV18, said: "Transnational criminal organizations run massive compounds that exploit U.S. technology, including AI, to carry out scams against Americans with devastating consequences… The scale of this exponentially growing challenge requires Congress, the Administration, and the private sector to all strengthen their efforts."
The report draws on a yearlong investigation by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE. It warns that State Department budget cuts eliminated at least one anti-scam training program for local law enforcement in Bangladesh, a country identified by a UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, funded by the EU and released last month, as an emerging hub for global scam operations. The State Department, which said it has 60 employees in the United States and Asia dedicated to the issue, told the committee it "has the tools it needs to combat the threat internationally."
Why it matters
The report frames cyberfraud as one of the largest and least-tracked financial crimes affecting Americans, with reported losses approaching $18 billion a year and no unified federal system for counting what is seized or returned. The committee's comparison with other jurisdictions is central to its argument: unlike the EU, the UK, Australia and Singapore, the United States has stopped short of holding technology, telecommunications or financial services companies potentially liable for failing to protect consumers from scams. The report urges Congress to pass pending legislation mandating a unified federal strategy and a central victim-reporting location.
Kate Griffin, a director at the Aspen Institute's financial security program, told the committee's authors that the U.S. still lacks "durable, sustainable scam prevention," adding, "We don't see that showing up yet in reduced victimization." The findings also raise questions about the direction of U.S. foreign policy on the issue, since the report links budget cuts at the State Department to the loss of at least one training program in Bangladesh, which the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has flagged as a growing base for scam operations. The State Department's position, that it has the tools it needs, sets up a direct disagreement with the committee's Democratic leadership over whether current resources are adequate.
How it is being covered
According to ground.news, the story is carried by 27 sources with a left/centre/right split of 50/42/8 percent, and 23 of 24 rated outlets score high or very high on factuality. Coverage skews toward left-leaning and centrist outlets, and the blindspot is on the right: only 8 percent of coverage comes from right-leaning sources, leaving conservative outlets largely absent from a story about federal fraud enforcement and State Department budget cuts.
What to watch
Watch whether Congress moves on the pending legislation the report endorses, which would mandate a unified federal strategy and a central victim-reporting location for scam victims. Watch also for any response from the Administration or from Republican members of the Joint Economic Committee, since the report was led by the panel's ranking Democrats and its findings touch on State Department budget decisions. Any follow-up from The Associated Press and FRONTLINE, whose yearlong investigation underpins the report, is likely to shape further coverage, as is the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's tracking of Bangladesh and other emerging scam hubs. Finally, watch whether proposals to hold technology, telecommunications or financial services companies liable for scam losses, modeled on regimes in the EU, the UK, Australia and Singapore, gain traction in either chamber.
By the numbers
Source snapshot
