The United States government’s response to escalating cyberscams is fragmented, leaving victims with limited options to recover lost funds, according to an investigation conducted by Democrats on Congress’s Joint Economic Committee (JEC).
uncertain
response → escalate → Committee
The investigation, led by Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, found that federal agencies do not have a consolidated or comprehensive record of how much money has been lost to cyberfraud, how much has been seized from overseas scam compounds, or how much has been returned to victims.
asserted
much → lead → victims
The report, published Tuesday, also concludes that the government does not “incentivize” private sector actors—such as financial institutions and social media companies—to “proactively detect and address abuse of the services that they provide while also protecting user privacy.”
asserted
they → publish → privacy
Online scam operations are not new, and neither is the knowledge that the issue is escalating.
asserted
issue → escalate → ?
The FBI released an April report showing that Americans lost nearly $18 billion in 2025, amounting to more than $2 million an hour.
asserted
Americans → release → million
Overall reported internet-crime losses—a broader category—reached $20.9 billion, up 26% from 2024 and roughly triple the 2021 total.
asserted
losses → report → billion
While the problem grows worse, the response to these crimes has not scaled along with it.
asserted
response → grow → it
The Congressional investigation demonstrates that only a fraction of the money lost to scams is recovered.
asserted
fraction → demonstrate → scams
It also points to the fact that the government fails to fully report on its existing repatriation measures.
asserted
government → point → measures
The FBI told the committee that it returned $336 million to scam victims in 2025, and the Secret Service returned more than $770 million in seized assets to fraud victims in fiscal years 2024 and 2025—though that money had come from a range of fraud schemes, not just cyber threats.
Suzanne Sando, a fraud analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, points out that “fragmentation” in the reporting system—including the differing time periods and fraud categories demonstrated above—complicates the government’s ability to grasp the full extent of the problem.
asserted
fragmentation → tell → problem
“Many of the groups and entities that scam victims report their losses to operate on disparate systems,” Sando says.
asserted
Sando → scam → systems
“The fragmented nature of these reporting entities means there’s a lack of true accounting of losses—which also means that our grasp of overall scam losses is likely less than the truth of the situation.
asserted
grasp → report → situation
The Congressional report calls on the federal government to enact new legislation to address the rising issue, including the ReportScams.Gov Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Hassan and Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott “to mandate a unified federal strategy to combat scams and establish a central location for Americans to find information and assistance regarding scams.”
asserted
Americans → call → scams
A more coordinated reporting system could help researchers and advocates better assess the scale of the problem.
uncertain
researchers → help → problem
Another benefit would be helping the public stay informed about potential schemes, allowing advocacy groups to develop preventive strategies and educational materials for at-risk populations, like senior citizens and minors.
asserted
groups → help → citizens
According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, Americans ages 60 and older reported losses of about $7.7 billion, a 60% increase from 2024.
uncertain
Americans → accord → 2024
They reported the highest total losses of any age group, the report showed.
asserted
report → report → group
Individuals under 18 reported nearly $13 million in losses across 13,168 internet-crime complaints in 2025, according to the same report.
uncertain
Individuals → report → report
But the true extent of the losses is hard to estimate, experts say.
asserted
experts → estimate → losses
Cyberscams are underreported because victims feel embarrassed, fear judgment, and believe recovery will be impossible.
asserted
recovery → underreporte → judgment
The last point is salient, because a stronger and more coordinated response—reaching some of the benchmarks outlined this week by members of the JEC—could give victims the confidence to report crimes in a timely manner, in turn making enforcement efforts more effective.
uncertain
efforts → reach → turn
The report calls for legislation that would “hold accountable” countries that “enable or permit” scam compound operations, and advance federal cooperation with private sector entities like the financial institutions and social media companies at the center of these scams.
asserted
that → call → scams
Experts note that this is a growing issue whose risk is only increasing as technology improves.
asserted
technology → note → ?
In alignment with the Congressional assessment, they tell TIME that a strategic, coordinated, and well-resourced response will be necessary if the government hopes to better protect Americans and help them recover funds lost to scams.
asserted
them → tell → scams
Online scams are on the rise
Data from the FBI and Congress show that transnational criminal organizations run massive compounds—and their reach is skyrocketing.
asserted
reach → show → compounds
According to Sando, the growing use of artificial intelligence has been partly responsible.
uncertain
use → accord → intelligence
“Criminals use social media to build trust through ongoing conversations and relationships, and AI has become a major part of criminals’ ability to manipulate situations and exploit victims,” she says.
asserted
she → use → victims
“Through AI, criminals can create more convincing and polished messages, fake social media profiles, and deepfake voices and videos with less time and effort.”
asserted
criminals → create → time
The manipulation tactics at the heart of these schemes have been consistent, Sando says, but criminals now have improved tools that allow them to quickly build credibility and “commit scams at scale.”
asserted
them → say → scale
Jake Braun, the executive director of the Cyber Policy Initiative at the University of Chicago, tells TIME that highly vulnerable populations are more exposed than ever before.
asserted
populations → tell → TIME
“You've got these, you know, super at-risk populations who just weren't online before, and now they are, and so the bad guys are taking advantage of that,” he says.
asserted
he → get → that
At the same time, technology gives individuals ready access to funding streams.
asserted
technology → give → streams
“They've all got Apple Pay on their phones,” Braun points out.
asserted
Braun → get → phones
He explains that many of these scams are run by organized criminal networks operating in Southeast Asia, where scam compounds often use trafficked workers forced to defraud people online.
asserted
compounds → explain → people
Why is it so difficult to recover lost funds?
asserted
it → recover → funds
It can be difficult to recover stolen funds because the issue is diffuse and widespread—spanning multiple countries, financial institutions, and criminal enterprises—and it is being addressed by a small group of law enforcement agencies that lack centralized coordination.
asserted
that → recover → coordination
Braun says investigations are complicated because they affect “millions of victims across dozens of countries” and include large numbers of cases with relatively small individual losses.
asserted
they → say → losses
“It's just incredibly complicated,” he says.
asserted
he → complicate → ?
“Nobody's robbing a bank and stealing $300 million.
asserted
Nobody → rob → million
That's a really hard problem to get after.”
asserted
That → get → ?
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
