OP-ED: FRAUD AND SCAMS CONTINUE TO RISE IN GEORGIA, COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS TO STOP THEM NEEDED

By Dr. Tiffany McBride

Earlier this year, a retired couple in Cobb County was scammed out of nearly $800,000 in a fake investment scheme. After a lifetime of saving and planning for retirement, a criminal, likely thousands of miles away, gained their trust and took them for nearly every dollar they had.

 That story isn't an outlier. Across the state, too many of our citizens have been scammed.

 Georgia is among the worst in the country when it comes to fraud, with more than 1,260 reports filed for every 100,000 residents. According to the FTC, Georgians lost $303 million in the first three quarters of 2025 alone. These are just the documented cases; the real figure is likely much higher.

 There are no limits to the lengths that scammers will go in their quest to steal. 

 Every day, Americans are inundated with text messages, emails, and phone calls peddling everything from fake tickets to fraudulent state utility payment portals. Behind these messages are large-scale organized crime syndicates operating thousands of miles away. In Myanmar, Cambodia, and across Southeast Asia, these groups kidnap workers and confine them in so-called "scam centers," forcing them to defraud unsuspecting victims around the clock. It's a sophisticated, industrialized operation that is preying on Americans.

 So the question is, what's Congress doing about it? In many cases, the answer is not enough. In some cases, the answer is the wrong thing entirely.

 In recent years, certain lawmakers and state attorneys general have proposed requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms to reimburse users who fall victim to scams. This sounds like good policy, but it misses the mark. Scammers do not confine themselves to any single payment system. Criminals will take money however they can get it, whether through cryptocurrency, wire transfers, gift cards, credit cards, or retirement accounts. Singling out payment apps will not stop the criminals. Worse, it could embolden them.

 Eliminating fraud and scams requires bolder solutions. Ones that target the criminals, not the systems they use for their misdeeds.

 A good start is for Congress to pass the bipartisan TRAPS Act. This bill would create a cross-agency task force to study the full scope of the problem and develop real recommendations. Instead of viewing scams as a problem isolated to one medium, it would bring everyone together, from cops to telecoms to the financial industry, to find solutions that will truly protect Americans.

 Next, Congress needs to ensure that law enforcement has the resources it needs to track criminal networks and put them out of business before they strike.

 Finally, international cooperation also must improve. Members of Congress must use their platforms to pressure foreign governments to shut down scam centers operating within their borders.

 After the Cobb County couple lost their life savings, their children set up a GoFundMe to try to help recoup some of the loss. This shouldn’t be our response to scams, and our leaders in Congress, like Senator Raphael Warnock, shouldn’t accept that this is our only recourse.

 It’s time for comprehensive solutions to shut down the scam ecosystem once and for all. Congress must make passing them a priority.