Trump administration touts efforts to combat cybercrime

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(The Center Square) – U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and others joined the president at a roundtable Wednesday promoting the administration’s work on preventing and responding to cybercrime by transnational criminal organizations preying on Americans. 

“Countless American victims have had their life savings, bank accounts, college funds and more emptied by these thieves,” said President Donald Trump. “We have marshalled the full force of the federal government to combat this scourge.”

The president highlighted directives issued in March and August aimed at combating cybercrime and online fraud. The March executive order directed federal agencies to develop a coordinated strategy to identify and dismantle criminal networks behind online scams and called for a proposal to establish a program to recover stolen funds for victims. An August presidential memorandum expanded those efforts by directing federal officials to work with private companies to identify and disrupt foreign cybercriminal networks.

Federal law enforcement has warned more than 10,000 Americans targeted by online scammers and prevented at least $1.6 billion in potential losses this year, according to the president. He also credited federal authorities with freezing nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency associated with overseas scammers, taking down more than 500 fraudulent websites and partnering with technology companies to disable millions of online accounts operated by foreign criminals.

“We will work tirelessly to recover what has been stolen and dismantle the criminal networks that prey on our people,” he said.

Blanche spoke about the Department of Justice’s new cyber-enabled scam initiative, which assigns dozens of prosecutors across all 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices to pursue cases against cybercriminals and assist victims. 

He also cited international operations targeting cybercrime, including a joint FBI-Dubai Police operation that resulted in nearly 300 arrests and the dismantling of at least nine scam centers. In a separate operation last month, U.S. authorities seized a criminal online marketplace and froze $52 million in assets, he said.

Nearly three in four American adults have experienced at least one type of internet scam or cyberattack, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center study.

Previous administrations have also undertaken efforts to combat cybercrime. In 2021, the Biden administration established a Justice Department team dedicated to investigating criminal uses of cryptocurrency and recovering stolen assets. Its 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy also called for greater cooperation among federal agencies, private companies and international partners to disrupt criminal networks and combat ransomware.