The US government isn’t doing enough to fight the surge in cyberscams, and partnerships with the private sector remain fragmented and voluntary, an investigation into the global scam industry led by the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress has found.

The government doesn’t even have a unified accounting of how much money has been seized from overseas scam compounds, nor how much has been returned to victims, according to the report, released Tuesday (October 27) by ranking Democrats Senator Maggie Hassan and Rep Don Beyer.

Citing findings from a yearlong investigation into global scams by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE, the report called for greater collaboration across agencies, support for victims, and deeper private sector engagement.

“Transnational criminal organisations run massive compounds that exploit US technology, including AI, to carry out scams against Americans with devastating consequences,” Hassan said in an email.

“The scale of this exponentially growing challenge requires Congress, the Administration, and the private sector to all strengthen their efforts.”

The report, which the AP obtained before its release, made clear how hard it is for scam victims to get their money back, despite the quickening pace of seizures announced by a variety of US government agencies.

The FBI told the committee that it returned $336 million to scam victims in 2025.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that it had returned $1.83 billion to fraud victims in fiscal year 2025, but couldn’t determine how much of that money had been lost to overseas scam compounds.

The US Secret Service returned more than $770 million in seized assets to fraud victims in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, but noted the money had come from a range of fraud schemes.

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