Shreve Leads Letter to Secretary of State Rubio on his Scam Prevention Efforts

July 1, 2025
Press Release

Washington, DC — Building on his initiative to combat predatory scams, Congressman Jefferson Shreve (IN-06) led a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging our State Department to utilize all available tools to crack down on foreign scam operations. Mr. Shreve led this letter with Democrat Rep. Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) and over 20 House Foreign Affairs Committee members. Last month, Congressman Shreve introduced legislation to address the growing threat of large-scale scam operations.

Mr. Shreve's letter to Secretary Rubio can be viewed here.

Foreign scam centers are increasingly targeting American citizens. According to the FBI, $17 billion was reported as stolen from Americans in 2024. However, the Federal Trade Commission estimates the real figure could be as high as $158 billion. Many of these operations have been traced back to large compounds in Southeast Asia that are powered by forced labor and are dedicated solely to financial scams. The Chinese Communist Party is playing a major role in facilitating and operating some of these networks.

The letter calls on the State Department to take action, including: 

  • Enforcing sanctions against corrupt foreign government officials who enable the operation of scam centers and human trafficking in their countries.
  • Empowering law enforcement partners to disrupt transnational criminal organizations.
  • Engaging high-level diplomatic counterparts to shut down known scam centers.
  • Applying greater pressure on the Chinese Communist Party for their role in facilitating scam operations. 

Congressman Shreve said, "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. I led my colleagues in urging our State Department to proactively combat the burgeoning scam crimes that emanate from overseas."

Rep. Olszewski said, "The stories I have heard from Americans and Marylanders targeted by foreign scammers are heartbreaking, often costing victims their life savings and, sometimes, even more devastating losses. Many times, the perpetrators are victims themselves — they have been trafficked and forced to work out of literal scam warehouses throughout southeast Asia. I am proud to join this bipartisan effort calling on our State Department to do more to combat this devastating crime."

Rep. Shreve and Rep. Olszewski were joined by 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 been the target of foreign scammers.  Mr. Shreve is committed to protecting Americans from these costly foreign scam center crimes. He formed the Congressional Scam Prevention Caucus — a bipartisan coalition of Congressional Members who are committed to protecting Americans from scams. Congress must play a greater role in the policymaking to enhance prevention and the criminal enforcement of these sophisticated foreign scam operations.