Washington, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Eugene Vindman (D-Va.-07) and Brad Finstad (R-Minn.-01) introduced bipartisan legislation to combat dangerous foreign scam networks that target Americans and undermine U.S. national security.
“With prices already too damn high, the last thing American families need is to fall victim to a scam. As a former prosecutor, I know far too many Americans have lost their life savings or had their personal information stolen by advanced foreign scam networks. It’s time Congress took action to protect consumers from fraudsters,” said Vindman. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to disrupt fraud and hold transnational crime networks accountable better protecting families across Virginia and the United States.”
“Malicious scammers that steal the data and hard-earned dollars of Americans often funnel stolen dollars and sensitive information to foreign criminal organizations, posing a direct threat to our national security,” said Finstad. “The Scam Defense Strategy Act improves our national cyber defense by enabling Cyber Command to better assess actions to disrupt these foreign crime networks. I’m proud to join Rep. Vindman in introducing this important legislation which will protect Americans, and our national security, from foreign exploitation.”
The SCAM Defense Strategy Act would direct the United States Cyber Command to submit a comprehensive report to Congress about what steps could be taken in cyberspace to protect Americans from foreign criminal groups that steal their money and personal information.
By taking decisive action against a fast-growing national security and consumer threat, this bipartisan legislation would strengthen the United States’ ability to combat cyber-enabled fraud and safeguard Americans’ financial and personal data. It would also help disrupt transnational organized crime networks linked to the Chinese Communist Party that jeopardize U.S. economic security, individual privacy, and national interests.
BACKGROUND
China-linked transnational organized crime networks operating across Southeast Asia steal at least $44 billion annually through text, email, and phone scams. These large-scale “fraud farms” are linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and have been associated with espionage activities, human trafficking, and financing regional conflict.
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