Nearly a year after the Government Accountability Office proposed a government-wide strategy for countering scams, most agencies have either not implemented its recommendations or said they disagreed with some of the conclusions, according to a recent update to Congress.
Last year, the GAO studied federal efforts to counter scams. It found that at least 13 agencies engage in activities to fight scams but there was little coordination between them. GAO recommended that the FBI lead a federal effort to develop a government-wide strategy to mitigate the problem and coordinate agency activities. It also suggested that the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau work with the FBI to develop a common definition of scams and produce a single, government-wide estimate of the number of consumers affected by scams.
In a report to Congress this week, GAO said that did not happen. The FBI and FTC outlined various concerns with the agency’s recommendations, such as differing agency authorities and mandates. The CFPB said it would monitor what the FBI and FTC are doing before deciding on a course of action.
The FBI agreed that some actions were necessary. The agency said that a multi-agency working group was needed to develop an “international center of excellence” for the U.S. to mitigate cyber-enabled fraud. It also said legislation is needed to ensure agencies have the necessary authorities to combat cyber-enabled fraud, and that additional funding is needed to implement a government-wide strategy.
