H.R. 6425 — National Strategy for Combating Scams Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings concerning the prevalence and impact of scams, including that more than 4 in 10 U.S. adults (an estimated 141.5 million) have lost money or had sensitive information fraudulently obtained; consumers reported losses exceeding $12 billion in 2024 (a 25% increase from the prior year), with imposter scams the most common type; criminals increasingly use generative AI (e.g., voice deepfakes); scams particularly harm older adults' mental health and finances; at least 13 federal agencies counter scams independently; and the Government Accountability Office recommends that the FBI lead development of a national strategy to combat scams.

This section directs the FBI Director, not later than 90 days after enactment, to assemble an interagency working group—including the FTC, CFPB, HHS, and 13 other specified federal entities—to develop a National Strategy for Combating Scams. The strategy must (1) incorporate feedback from specified community stakeholders (e.g., scam survivors, older adults, disability groups, prosecutors, businesses, and experts); (2) establish a definition of "scam" for use by the FBI, FTC, and CFPB, including analysis of its selection and evaluation of adoption by other agencies; (3) evaluate scam risks, including threats, vulnerabilities, health and financial impacts, national and economic security risks, and federal responses; (4) evaluate evidence-based scam prevention methods; (5) define agency roles, responsibilities, and authorities; (6) analyze maintaining a single government-wide estimate of scams and associated dollar losses (including unreported incidents), with either a development plan or barriers analysis; and (7) formulate plans for coordinated consumer complaint reporting (including accessibility for individuals with disabilities), agency deconfliction, harmonized data collection and aggregation (e.g., on scam types, losses, payment methods, using AI), private sector data sharing and enforcement coordination, rapid response protocols for public warnings, and federal-state-local-Tribal coordination.

This section directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Trade Commission, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt the common definition of “scam” recommended in the National Strategy for Combating Scams not later than one year after its publication under section 3(c) and any subsequent updates to that definition not later than one year after such updates.