Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
The bill would create a federal interagency task force to dismantle transnational criminal syndicates that run large-scale online scam operations from compounds in Southeast Asia, and would require the President to sanction specific individuals and organizations tied to these operations.
It would also authorize $30 million over two years for the State Department to carry out an anti-scam strategy and fund support services for trafficking victims forced to work in scam centers, reflecting growing concern over billions of dollars in American losses to 'pig butchering' and similar schemes.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the President to establish, within 30 days of enactment, an interagency task force led by the Secretary of State and including the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury, to develop and implement a strategy for shutting down transnational scam operations that use trafficked forced labor. It would require the President to determine, within 180 days, whether 43 specifically named foreign individuals and organizations meet criteria for sanctions under existing authorities such as the Global Magnitsky Act, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and Executive Order 13581, and to impose sanctions on those who qualify, subject to a national-security waiver.
The bill would also require annual reports to Congress for five years tracking sanctioned persons, stolen funds, trafficking victims, and known scam centers, and would authorize the State Department to fund trauma-informed care and reintegration services for trafficking victims rescued from scam centers. It authorizes $30 million per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to fund the strategy's implementation, and sets the task force to terminate seven years after enactment.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the President to establish an interagency task force within 30 days of enactment to dismantle transnational online scam syndicates using trafficked forced labor
- 2Would require the task force to develop and submit to Congress within 180 days a comprehensive strategy to shut down scam centers and hold enablers accountable
- 3Would require the President to determine within 180 days whether 43 named foreign persons and entities meet criteria for sanctions, and to impose sanctions accordingly, subject to a waiver
- 4Would require annual reports to Congress for five years on sanctioned persons, stolen funds, trafficking victims, and known scam centers
- 5Would authorize the State Department to fund trauma-informed care, shelter, and reintegration services for trafficking victims from scam centers
- 6Would authorize $30,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for the State Department to implement the strategy
Who would be affected
The 43 named foreign individuals and entities face potential U.S. sanctions, along with any additional persons the President later designates. Federal agencies including the State Department, Justice Department, Homeland Security, and Treasury would take on new coordination duties, while trafficking victims forced into scam labor could receive new State Department-funded support services.
Why it matters
Americans lost an estimated $10 billion to online scam operations in 2024 alone, according to the findings cited in the bill. If enacted, targeted sanctions and a dedicated task force could disrupt the criminal networks and corrupt officials enabling these scams, while also directing new resources toward identifying and assisting trafficking victims coerced into running them.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for the President to establish the interagency task force
- Deadline for the task force to submit its comprehensive strategy to Congress
- Deadline for the President to determine and impose sanctions on listed foreign persons
- First annual report to Congress on scam centers and sanctions, then yearly for five years
- Task force termination
Funding and costs
- $30,000,000
State Department funding to develop, coordinate, and implement the anti-scam strategy
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5490 would reduce deficits by less than $500,000 over the 2026–2035 period, with discretionary spending subject to appropriation totaling $1 million over 2026–2030.
CBO estimates that H.R. 5490 would increase both revenues and direct spending (mandatory spending) by insignificant amounts — each below $500,000 — over the 2026–2035 period, yielding a net deficit reduction of less than $500,000. The main cost drivers are a small increase in sanctions-related penalty revenues and a modest reduction in federal benefits spending for foreign nationals denied entry, both affecting only a small number of people. Discretionary spending (subject to congressional appropriations) for the required task force and reporting activities is estimated at less than $500,000 per year, totaling $1 million over 2026–2030. The bill contains a private-sector mandate — placing compliance burdens on U.S. financial institutions to monitor and block transactions with sanctioned parties — but CBO estimates the cost falls well below UMRA's $206 million annual threshold; there are no intergovernmental mandates.
How implementation would work
The task force, chaired by the Secretary of State and including Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury officials, would develop a national strategy within 180 days, coordinate its execution, and consult quarterly with law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations. The President would separately determine and impose sanctions on named persons within 180 days, with a 15-day waiver process requiring a national-security justification to Congress. The task force would report annually to Congress for five years on sanctions, victims, and stolen funds, and would oversee State Department-funded victim support programs, before terminating seven years after enactment.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 48 - 0.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the President to (1) impose applicable sanctions on foreign persons (individuals or entities) responsible for online financial scams against U.S. nationals, and (2) establish an interagency task force to shut down the criminal syndicates perpetuating such scams.
Under the bill, the President must determine whether 43 specified foreign persons, and any other foreign persons the President determines are responsible for or complicit in online financial scams against U.S. nationals, are subject to sanctions under specified laws and Executive Order 13581. Upon such determination, the President must impose applicable sanctions (for example, blocking the sanctioned person's property transactions within the United States).
The President must also establish an interagency task force to shut down transnational criminal syndicates that use large scam centers and forced labor of trafficked persons to perpetuate mass online scams against Americans. The task force must (1) submit a comprehensive strategy to Congress to combat these scam centers and dismantle the criminal elements involved with them, and (2) coordinate and oversee implementation of the strategy. Within 360 days of submitting the strategy to Congress and annually thereafter for five years the task force must submit to Congress a report addressing various topics related to such scam centers including a list of all foreign persons sanctioned by the United States for their scam center involvement.
The Department of State is authorized to provide trauma-informed care, shelter, reintegration, and support services for victims of trafficking in persons within online scam centers.
Legislative subjects
Advisory bodies; Asia; Burma; Cambodia; China; Computer security and identity theft; Congressional oversight; Crime victims; Data collection, sharing, protection; Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad; Foreign property; Fraud offenses and financial crimes; Human trafficking; Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information; International Affairs; Laos; Organized crime; Performance measurement; Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents; Public-private cooperation; Sanctions; Smuggling and trafficking