“Your toll balance has not been paid. Pay by November 2, 2025 to avoid legal action or additional penalties.”
Scammers are contacting me every day, and I know they’re contacting you, too. Unfortunately, texts like these are far more than an annoying nuisance.
They stem from sophisticated scam operations run by foreign criminal networks. These predatory scammers are stealing from our families, our friends, and our neighbors — and they’re getting away with it.
In 2024, the FBI reported $16.6 billion in losses related to scams. That staggering figure represents more than just numbers on a page. It means lost homes, retirement accounts drained overnight, and innocent victims left with little to nothing. And the problem is only getting worse.
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In Indiana, I’ve personally received scam text messages involving fake toll road notices, phony package deliveries, and even criminals impersonating state government officials. So, I began investigating. I expected to find a coordinated federal strategy to combat these scams. Instead, I found a vacuum. Federal agencies pointed me in different directions, and there was no clear path set on how to combat these scams.
This is a national crisis hiding in plain sight. Congress has a responsibility to respond, and I’m working to spearhead the effort.
I have a unique opportunity on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to understand these foreign criminal operations and the gaps in our efforts to combat them. Scamming has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry that could soon rival fentanyl as one of the top dangers that Chinese criminal networks pose to the United States. Scam centers took root after the collapse of Southeast Asia’s gambling industry during COVID-19. In countries such as Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, where corruption and instability have created fertile ground, these scam compounds thrive. Thousands of people, lured by fake job postings, have been trafficked and forced to commit scams under threat of torture.
These criminal operations have become increasingly sophisticated. They weaponize artificial intelligence, exploit stolen personal information, and disguise themselves in ways that make detection harder than ever. Every corner of our country is being targeted.
Toll road fee texts, emails, and phone calls are a common and costly occurrence for trusting Americans. Too often, victims suffer in silence, ashamed to admit they have been deceived. Their losses go unreported. As the true scale of this problem emerged, it became clear that the figure reported by the FBI is a dramatic underrepresentation of the real losses due to this underreporting. Many experts estimate that between 75% and 90% of losses are not reported to the authorities.
It’s time for Congress to take action. We can’t stand idly by while Americans are targeted.
That’s why I put together a package of legislation and other congressional actions to combat foreign scammers. Congress must give federal law enforcement the necessary tools to combat large-scale scam operations and block criminals’ access to U.S. telecom infrastructure. My recent Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act creates a government-wide task force at the federal and state levels to share intelligence and coordinate enforcement against foreign scammers. We must utilize resources at our disposal to combat these criminal operations.
I also launched the bipartisan Stop Scams Caucus with Reps. Gabe Amo (D-RI), Zach Nunn (R-IA), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). Our coalition spans the political spectrum because we are united in one mission: to shut down the foreign scam pipelines that drain billions of dollars from Americans.
This isn’t just about consumer protection. It’s a matter of national security.
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Many of these transnational criminal groups have ties to the Chinese Communist Party and are using scams to weaken our citizens and erode trust. In coordination with our allies, the U.S. must confront China’s complicity and dismantle these networks.
Congress has a choice. We can continue treating scams as a peripheral nuisance, or we can recognize them for what they are: an urgent and growing threat to American families, seniors, and our nation’s security. The criminals are organized. It is time we are, too.
Jefferson Shreve represents Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District.
