Congress finds fragmented response to $18 billion annual cyberfraud loss

Americans reported cyberfraud losses of nearly $18 billion to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2025, a rate that exceeds $2 million per hour. A report released Tuesday by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress states that the government lacks a unified accounting of how much money has been seized from overseas scam compounds and returned to victims.

The investigation, led by ranking Democrats Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Don Beyer, found that partnerships with the private sector remain voluntary and fragmented. The report cites findings from a yearlong investigation by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE. It calls for greater collaboration across agencies and deeper engagement from private companies.

Sen. Maggie Hassan said in an email that transnational criminal organizations exploit U.S. technology, including artificial intelligence, to run massive compounds. She stated that the scale of the challenge requires Congress, the Administration, and the private sector to strengthen their efforts.

Government agencies have reported different figures for returned funds. The FBI told the committee it returned $336 million to scam victims in 2025. The Federal Trade Commission reported returning $1.83 billion to fraud victims in fiscal year 2025, though it could not determine how much of that amount was lost to overseas compounds. The U.S. Secret Service returned more than $770 million in seized assets to victims in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

The U.S. State Department said foreign law enforcement agencies receiving its support seized proceeds in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. The department directed Congress to ask the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury for more details. The State Department maintains it has 60 employees in the U.S. and Asia who dedicate significant time to fighting overseas scam compounds.

The report notes that U.S. State Department cutbacks eliminated at least one anti-scam program in Bangladesh. That program had trained local law enforcement to conduct cyberfraud investigations. A United Nations report last month described Bangladesh as an emerging hub for global scam operations.

The report urges Congress to pass pending legislation that would mandate a unified federal strategy and establish a central location for victims to report losses. Several Justice Department officials told Congress that private sector companies should focus more on scam prevention. U.S. regulators have not created clear incentives for this, unlike the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore, which have held technology and financial services companies potentially liable for failing to protect consumers.

Kate Griffin, a director at the Aspen Institute’s financial security program, said the U.S. lacks durable and sustainable scam prevention. She noted that reduced victimization has not yet shown up in the data.