Why it's so hard for Americans to get stolen money back despite surge in government seizures

Federal efforts to combat the surging wave of cyberfraud are falling short, while collaboration with the private sector remains fragmented and voluntary, a congressional inquiry into global criminal scams has concluded.A report published on Tuesday by ranking Democrats Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Don Beyer revealed that the U.S. government does not even maintain a centralized accounting of funds seized from foreign scam operations or returned to affected victims.Drawing upon findings from a yearlong investigation conducted by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE, the report urged enhanced interagency cooperation, improved support for victims, and broader participation from private companies."Transnational criminal organizations run massive compounds that exploit U.S. 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 findings, which the AP obtained prior to their public release, highlight the severe hurdles victims encounter when trying to recover stolen money, despite an increasing number of asset seizures announced by federal agencies.Figures provided to the committee show the FBI returned $336 million to scam victims in 2025.Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission reported returning $1.83 billion to fraud victims during fiscal year 2025, though it was unable to specify how much of those funds had been lost to overseas scam centers.The U.S. Secret Service restored over $770 million in seized assets to fraud victims across fiscal years 2024 and 2025, noting the money originated from a variety of fraud schemes.According to the U.S. State Department, foreign police agencies receiving assistance from the department seized illicit proceeds "in the low hundreds of millions of dollars," though officials directed lawmakers to the Departments of Justice, Treasury, and Homeland Security for specific details.Taken together, those recoveries represent only a small fraction of total consumer losses. The FBI received reports of cyberfraud damage totaling nearly $18 billion last year—equating to more than $2 million lost every hour—with many victims never reporting the crime.The report also raised concerns that while criminal scam syndicates expand into more countries, U.S. State Department budget cuts eliminated an anti-fraud training program in Bangladesh that instructed local police on cybercrime investigations.A report released last month by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, funded by the European Union, identified Bangladesh as an emerging hub for global scam operations.The U.S. State Department, which has 60 employees in the U.S. and Asia dedicated to targeting foreign scam compounds, informed the committee that it "has the tools it needs to combat the threat internationally."The report urged Congress to pass pending legislation that would establish a unified federal strategy to fight scams alongside a centralized location for victims to report financial losses and seek help. The White House has also advocated for greater federal coordination.Several Justice Department officials told Congress that private sector firms must focus more on prevention, but U.S. regulators and lawmakers have yet to create clear incentives for them to do so. Unlike the 27-nation EU, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore, the United States has stopped short of holding technology, telecommunications, or financial services companies liable if they fail to adequately protect consumers from fraud.Kate Griffin, a director with the Aspen Institute’s financial security program, noted that despite some progress, the nation still lacks "durable, sustainable scam prevention.""We don’t see that showing up yet in reduced victimization," she said. "And that’s what really needs to happen."