H.R. 4988 — Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025

This section states the following congressional findings: (1) Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal to punish, deter, and prevent acts of aggression and depredations by scam centers; and (2) criminal enterprises employing cybercrimes and coerced labor present an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. economic and national security.

This section authorizes the President to commission private persons and entities, through officially issued letters of marque and reprisal, to seize outside U.S. geographic boundaries the person and property of individuals or foreign governments determined by the President to be members of or conspirators with criminal enterprises responsible for acts of cybercrime aggression against the United States. The section requires a security bond, in an amount determined by the President, prior to issuing any such letter. For these purposes, the section defines (1) "cybercrime" to include offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (i.e., the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act), unauthorized computer access to obtain national security information or personally identifiable information, unauthorized access to government computers, unauthorized access for fraud, transmission of damaging programs or commands, password trafficking, pig butchering scams, ransomware attacks, cryptocurrency theft, and identity theft; and (2) "criminal enterprise" to include a foreign government.