Indy Standard

Building on his initiative to combat predatory scams, Congressman Jefferson Shreve (IN-06) led a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the State Department to use all available tools against foreign scam operations. Shreve was joined by Democrat Rep. Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) and over 20 House Foreign Affairs Committee members in this effort. Last month, Shreve introduced legislation targeting large-scale scam operations.

Foreign scam centers increasingly target American citizens. The FBI reported $17 billion stolen from Americans in 2024, while the Federal Trade Commission estimates losses could reach $158 billion. Many scams are traced back to Southeast Asian compounds powered by forced labor and focused on financial scams, with the Chinese Communist Party playing a significant role.

The letter calls for actions such as enforcing sanctions against corrupt officials enabling these operations, empowering law enforcement partners to disrupt criminal organizations, engaging diplomatic counterparts to shut down known scam centers, and applying pressure on the Chinese Communist Party.

Congressman Shreve stated, "American citizens, including countless Hoosiers, continue to be victimized by these sophisticated foreign scam centers. We must utilize resources at our disposal to combat these criminal operations."

Rep. Olszewski added, "The stories I have heard from Americans and Marylanders targeted by foreign scammers are heartbreaking... Many times, the perpetrators are victims themselves — they have been trafficked and forced to work out of literal scam warehouses throughout southeast Asia."

Joining Reps. Shreve and Olszewski were Reps. Gabe Amo (D-RI-01), Jim Baird (R-IN-04), Andy Barr (R-KY-06), Michael Baumgartner (R-WA-05), Ami Bera (D-CA-06), Sheri Biggs (R-SC-03), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Mark Green (R-TN-07), Bill Huizenga (R-MI-04), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Young Kim (R-CA-40), Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA-07), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Michael McCaul (R-TX-10), Rich McCormick (R-GA-07), James Moylan (R-GU), Maria Salazar (R-FL-27) , Chris Smith (R-NJ-04) , Greg Stanton (D-AZ -04) , Joe Wilson R-SC -02) , and Ryan Zinke R-MT -01).

Hoosiers have increasingly become targets of foreign scammers. Mr. Shreve is committed to protecting Americans from costly foreign scam center crimes through efforts like forming the Congressional Scam Prevention Caucus — a bipartisan coalition aimed at enhancing prevention and enforcement against these sophisticated operations.