Ranking Member Shaheen, Senator Cornyn Introduce Bill to Counter Foreign Cyber Scams

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization (SCAM) Act, which would counter foreign cyber scams and hold transnational criminal organizations accountable for human trafficking, forced criminality and cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting Americans:

"Scam operations overseas are trafficking people, forcing crime, and draining billions from Americans every year," said Senator Shaheen. "I'm proud to join in this bipartisan effort to mount a comprehensive, whole-of-government response to hold these international criminal actors accountable and protect Americans' hard-earned money."

"Transnational criminal organizations who are ensnaring innocent victims and coercing them into defrauding Americans must be held accountable," said Senator Cornyn. "This legislation would take strategic steps to combat the growing threat of cyber scams posed by criminals connected to China and other bad actors and safeguard Americans and their pocketbooks."

Background:

Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) across the globe - many of which are based in Southeast Asia and affiliated with the People's Republic of China (PRC) - are increasingly conducting large-scale cyber scam operations against Americans. By deceptively luring victims under false pretenses to a secure facility, also known as a scam compound, TCOs are then forcing these trafficked captives to commit cybercrimes under duress and swindle Americans out of billions of dollars annually.

In 2024, the FBI reported that there were nearly $14 billion in losses in the United States due to cyber-enabled fraud. While the Chinese Communist Party has been known to selectively crack down on compounds targeting Chinese citizens, they are otherwise turning a blind eye to those that defraud Americans, allowing them to proliferate at an alarming rate.

The Senators' SCAM Act would counter foreign cyber scams and hold transnational criminal organizations accountable for employing human trafficking and forced criminality to commit cyber-enabled fraud schemes on Americans by:

• Requiring the U.S. Secretary of State, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and other relevant departments and agencies, to submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy to counter scam compounds by preventing recruitment fraud, enhancing the capabilities of partner governments and law enforcement agencies to stop scam compounds and associated money laundering, supporting survivors of human trafficking and holding accountable countries that enable or permit scam compound operations;
• Establishing a task force to implement the strategy over a six-year period, evaluate its progress and submit an annual report to Congress detailing its effectiveness and
• Allowing the President to use International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) sanctions against foreign persons who support or enable international scam compound operations.

In September 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed significant sanctions on a network of Southeast Asian scam centers. This legislation aims to build on The Trump administration's effort to address this growing threat.

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