Chairman Meuser Holds Hearing on Financial Fraud and Scams, Launches New Consumer Resource Website

Washington, D.C.- Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today convened a hearing titled "Fraud in Focus: Exposing Financial Threats to American Families." The hearing brought together leading experts to examine the alarming rise of financial scams targeting Americans of all ages and to begin charting solutions to protect families from scams.

"According to the FTC, Americans lost over $12 billion to scams in 2024-a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Yet that number likely underestimates the true scale of the problem, with most victims never filing a report," said Chairman Meuser. "These crimes are sophisticated, widespread, and devastating. They strike everyone-from young adults to seniors-leaving lasting financial and emotional harm."

Witnesses included:

• Paul Benda, Executive Vice President, Risk, Fraud & Cybersecurity, American Bankers Association
• Ian Bednowitz, General Manager, LifeLock at Gen
• Kate Griffin, Director, National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Witnesses described how scams are evolving through the use of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and organized international crime networks-making them harder to detect and more costly for victims. They stressed that scams are not only an economic issue but also a national security concern, with transnational criminal groups using scams to fund other illicit activities. Paul Benda emphasized that "banks cannot fight this battle alone-every player in the ecosystem, from telecom companies to social media platforms, must take responsibility to protect consumers."

The hearing underscored the need for a whole-of-society approach-bringing together federal and state regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, technology companies, and consumers themselves. Committee Republicans emphasized goals of strengthening consumer education, highlighting best practices, promoting proven systems, and ensuring agencies use existing authorities to counter scams.

As part of this effort, Chairman Meuser announced the launch of a new online resource to help constituents recognize and report scams: meuser.house.gov/scams.

The site provides a plain-English guide to the 9 red flags of scams, explains common scams like impostor schemes, phishing, card and check fraud, crypto scams, and elder exploitation, and gives step-by-step instructions on what to do immediately if you've been targeted. It also links directly to federal reporting portals-including the FTC, FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), SEC, CFPB, IRS, and others-and highlights resources from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Constituents can also find specialized help, such as the DOJ's National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-FRAUD-11).

"This is just the beginning of the Committee's work to confront the epidemic of scams," Meuser added. "Our Subcommittee will continue to work on a bipartisan basis and across sectors to protect the American people from scammers and restore confidence in our financial system."

The hearing can be viewed in full here.

Chairman Meuser's opening statement can be found here.

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