The focus on online fraud follows more than 1 million complaints about internet scams filed with the FBI by Americans last year.
President Donald Trump is set to promote his administration’s crackdown on overseas criminal networks that lure Americans into fraudulent crypto investments at a White House event on Wednesday, according to a White House official cited by Reuters.
The event will focus on cybercrime prevention, with Trump and members of his cabinet expected to highlight government seizures of fraudulent crypto investment websites and efforts to combat online impersonation scams.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Todd Blanche are expected to participate.
The administration’s announcement comes amid a rise in reported internet scams. Americans submitted more than 1 million complaints to the FBI about internet scams last year, up 17% from 2024, according to an agency report that also recorded the highest losses among Americans who filed complaints.
At the same time, Trump’s family has maintained significant involvement in crypto investment ventures. Reuters reported that the president and his sons had increased their family fortune by at least $2.3 billion through their main crypto businesses, while investors they had solicited incurred a combined $2.3 billion in losses.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to Reuters that the president and his administration acted in the best interest of the American people.
Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.
On March 6, 2026, Trump signed Executive Order 14390 targeting cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes. The order directed federal prosecutors to prioritize cyber-enabled fraud cases and pushed agencies to coordinate responses to foreign transnational criminal organizations.
On August 12, 2026, Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum establishing a program under which vetted US companies may conduct cyber operations against foreign TCOs, under the direction, control, and authority of the US government.
Patrick Witt, an executive director under the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, framed the August memorandum as an important step in the broader fight against crypto fraud. He positioned it as part of a push to protect American citizens from these schemes.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded approximately $21 billion in reported internet-crime losses in 2025, including more than $11 billion tied to crypto. Crypto investment fraud alone accounted for $7.2 billion.
The Scam Center Strike Force, launched in November 2025, has recovered more than $800 million tied to fraud schemes, according to the Justice Department.
On October 14, 2026, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, working with the FBI, disrupted 241 fraudulent domains and 112 servers linked to an international crypto investment-fraud network after a three-year investigation.
Prosecutors said the scheme targeted Russian-speaking victims through platforms including Facebook, stole tens of millions of dollars, and that about $300,000 had been recovered so far.