U.S. House Financial Services Committee holds fraud and scams oversight hearing and seeks details on the Federal Reserve’s anti-fraud work

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing led by Chairman Dan Meuser to examine financial fraud and scams affecting American families, framing the session as part of a broader effort to strengthen consumer education, identify best practices for consumers and firms, promote effective systems and models, and improve how authorities and industry track and stop scammers. In his prepared opening remarks, Meuser cited Federal Trade Commission data showing 2.6 million fraud reports in 2024 and consumer losses of more than USD 12 billion, a 25% increase from 2023, alongside Department of Justice estimates that only 15% of victims report fraud to law enforcement. He highlighted a range of schemes including check fraud, romance scams, bank transfer fraud, identity theft, and payment scams, and pointed to vulnerability across age groups. Meuser also referenced recent actions and information-gathering by the Trump Administration, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and noted that he and Chairmen Hill and Barr sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell seeking details on the Fed’s fraud work, its coordination with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and a briefing on comments received to the Fed’s June 2025 request for information and its planned consumer education.