Scam Recovery Gap: Federal Agencies Return $2.9B Against $18B in Losses

The U.S. government returned roughly $2.9 billion to fraud victims in recent fiscal years, a sum that covers less than one-sixth of the $18 billion Americans lost to cyberfraud last year. A report released on Tuesday by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress found that federal responses to the rising tide of digital scams remain disjointed, leaving many victims without financial restitution.

The investigation, led by ranking Democrats Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Don Beyer, cites data from multiple federal bodies to illustrate the fragmented nature of recovery efforts. The FBI reported returning $336 million to victims in 2025. The Federal Trade Commission stated it returned $1.83 billion in fiscal year 2025, though it could not determine how much of that total originated from overseas scam compounds. The U.S. Secret Service returned over $770 million in seized assets during fiscal years 2024 and 2025, noting that the funds came from various fraud schemes.

The State Department added that foreign law enforcement agencies receiving U.S. support seized proceeds in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the department advised Congress to seek more detailed figures from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury. The committee found that no single agency maintains a unified accounting of total funds seized or returned, creating a data gap that obscures the true scale of recovery.

Victim losses continue to outpace recovery efforts. Americans reported nearly $18 billion in cyberfraud losses to the FBI last year, averaging more than $2 million per hour. The report notes that many victims do not report their crimes, suggesting the actual financial damage may be higher. The investigation highlights that transnational criminal organizations use U.S. technology, including AI, to operate massive compounds that target American consumers.

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. It also calls for deeper private sector engagement, noting that U.S. regulators have not created clear incentives for technology and financial companies to prioritize scam prevention. Unlike the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore, the United States has not held these industries liable for failing to protect consumers. Kate Griffin, a director at the Aspen Institute’s financial security program, stated that while progress has been made, the U.S. still lacks durable scam prevention mechanisms that show up in reduced victimization.