Scam Defense Strategy Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6770 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6770

To direct the Commander of the United States Cyber Command to submit to 
Congress a report regarding recommended actions in cyberspace to defend 
the United States against transnational organized crime networks linked 
       to the Chinese Communist Party that operate digital scams.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2025

  Mr. Vindman (for himself and Mr. Finstad) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Commander of the United States Cyber Command to submit to 
Congress a report regarding recommended actions in cyberspace to defend 
the United States against transnational organized crime networks linked 
       to the Chinese Communist Party that operate digital scams.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Scam Defense Strategy Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME NETWORKS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to estimates from the United States 
        Institutes of Peace, China-linked transnational organized crime 
        groups that operate ``fraud farms'' in Southeast Asia steal 
        nearly $43,800,000,000 annually through digital scams.
            (2) Such scams increasingly affect Americans and 
        disproportionately target vulnerable populations such as the 
        elderly and socially isolated.
            (3) According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2024 
        alone--
                    (A) 246,783 scam text messages were reported, 
                resulting in $469,000,000 in losses to Americans;
                    (B) 371,664 scam emails were reported, resulting in 
                $502,000,000 in losses to Americans; and
                    (C) 284,651 scam phone calls were reported, 
                resulting in $948,000,000 in losses to Americans.
            (4) Transnational organized crime groups maintain 
        documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese 
        officials and state-owned enterprises have provided direct 
        support for the construction and operation of facilities linked 
        to transnational organized crime, raising serious concerns 
        about a coordinated campaign of foreign interference and 
        sabotage.
            (5) The involvement of the Chinese Communist Party in 
        transnational organized crime networks presents an urgent 
        national security threat. These networks funnel financial 
        assets and sensitive personal information of United States 
        citizens to a hostile foreign power, undermining American 
        economic security and individual privacy.
            (6) Such transnational organized crime networks have deeply 
        imbedded themselves into Southeast Asian economies, exerting 
        destabilizing influence across the region.
            (7) Proceeds from scams operated by these transnational 
        crime networks are used to fund warlords and ongoing civil 
        conflicts, compounding regional instability.
            (8) Transnational organized crime networks have trafficked 
        an estimated 300,000 individuals into cyber scam operations 
        across Southeast Asia. Victims, including United States 
        citizens, are forced to work under conditions that the U.S.-
        China Economic and Security Review Commission compares to 
        modern slavery. The United Nations has warned that human 
        trafficking tied to these scam centers has reached the level of 
        a humanitarian and human rights crisis.
            (9) The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review has 
        acknowledged credible reports linking scam facilities in the 
        Philippines to Chinese espionage activity. These facilities are 
        being constructed near air bases strategically important to 
        United States operations, including Clark Air Base and Basa Air 
        Base, a key site under the Enhanced Defense Cooperative 
        Agreement. Philippine intelligence has provided compelling 
        evidence that these compounds have been used for surveillance 
        and cyber intrusions.
            (10) The Chinese government has used the presence of 
        Chinese transnational organized crime networks in Southeast 
        Asia to pressure regional governments to allow a greater role 
        for Chinese security forces, which threatens national 
        sovereignty and regional stability.
            (11) Transnational organized crime networks endanger 
        American defense priorities as well as democracy, good 
        governance, and stability worldwide by co-opting local elites, 
        undermining law enforcement, weakening state authority, and 
        threatening the strategic interests of the United States in 
        building a free and open Indo-Pacific.
            (12) An effective response by the United States Government 
        will require a coordinated, whole-of-government effort drawing 
        on the competencies of Federal agencies in information 
        collection, financial enforcement, diplomatic engagement, 
        defense and intelligence preparedness, and law enforcement.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commander of the United States Cyber Command 
shall submit to Congress a report regarding recommended actions for the 
Secretary of Defense to take in cyberspace to defend the United States 
and United States citizens, assets, and interests against transnational 
organized crime networks linked to the Chinese Communist Party that 
operate digital scams.
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