By Matthew Holloway |
President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month aimed at strengthening the federal government’s response to cybercrime, fraud, and other online schemes targeting Americans.
The order, titled “Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens,” directs multiple federal agencies to coordinate efforts to disrupt criminal organizations involved in cyber-enabled fraud schemes and online scams.
According to the White House, the policy establishes that the United States will protect Americans and strengthen financial and digital systems against cybercrime while responding to attacks through “law enforcement, diplomacy, and potential offensive actions.”
The order states its purpose as follows:
“Cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes are draining American families of their life savings, stealing the benefits of years of work, and destroying the lives of our youth. These activities — which include deploying ransomware and malware, phishing, financial fraud, ‘sextortion’ and other extortion schemes, impersonation, and more — are often coordinated campaigns carried out by Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) aimed at the most vulnerable among us.”
The order also states that foreign governments are connected to many of these schemes, writing, “In many cases, foreign regimes provide willing or tacit state support to cybercrime and predatory schemes, creating a shadow economy fueled by stolen identities, coercion, forced labor, and human trafficking.”
The executive order directs federal officials to conduct a comprehensive review of the operational, technical, diplomatic, and regulatory tools used to combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in cyber-enabled crimes and fraud schemes. The review is intended to identify ways to prevent, disrupt, investigate, and dismantle scam operations.
Under the order, the Attorney General is directed to prioritize prosecutions of cyber-enabled fraud and scam schemes and pursue serious, provable offenses. The Attorney General is also tasked with submitting recommendations on establishing a Victims Restoration Program to help return seized or forfeited funds to victims of fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security is instructed to work with the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center to provide training, technical assistance, and resilience-building support to state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.
The order also directs the Department of State to engage with foreign governments to encourage enforcement action against transnational criminal organizations operating within their borders. Countries that fail to cooperate could face consequences including sanctions, visa restrictions, limits on foreign assistance, or the expulsion of officials found to be complicit.
The executive order was issued alongside the administration’s broader Cyber Strategy for America, which outlined priorities for deterring cyber adversaries, strengthening critical infrastructure security, modernizing federal networks, and expanding the government’s cybersecurity workforce and capabilities to Congress.
Federal agencies are expected to develop implementation plans and recommendations in the coming months as part of the administration’s effort to disrupt cybercrime networks and strengthen protections for American citizens and businesses.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
