Fraud and Scams Rise Again in Connecticut - A New Approach to Stopping Them Is Needed
/by Anthony Spinella
In 2023, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general calling for stronger collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to find and prosecute individuals that were scamming Americans. Two years later, the most recent FTC data sadly show that more Americans are being scammed than ever.
As a former state criminal prosecutor, I’ve seen and prosecuted my fair share of fraud and scams cases. Over the years, these cases have changed. Scammers have expanded their arsenal, relying on multiple messaging platforms and financial channels to defraud Americans. But as the crimes have evolved, the government’s response to stopping them has failed to do the same.
The numbers show that we need a new approach to stopping these crimes and immediate action in Congress.
In 2024, approximately 20,000 Connecticut residents lost a record $90 million to fraud. This was $20 million more than the year before, and $33 million than the year before that.
The most reported type of scam were imposter scams. These crimes involve a criminal claiming to be from a real organization, often a government agency, and demanding payment. The scams are also the easiest to spot if you’re on the receiving end.
Beyond imposter scams, there are also growing reports of pig-butchering scams across the Nutmeg State. In these instances, scammers will build romantic relationships with their victims, and over time secure consistent money transfers, often in the form of cryptocurrency. By the time the victim realizes what has happened, it’s too late to catch the criminal or recover any money. In the most severe case, a woman was conned out of nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency.
Unfortunately, with many of these scams, a complicating factor comes in the fact that they originate abroad. Countries like Myannmar and Cambodia have become safe havens for criminal enterprises that run scam factories.
“Before more of our citizens fall victim, Congress must act with big, bold solutions. Narrowly targeted policies won’t cut it. ”
Before more of our citizens fall victim, Congress must act with big, bold solutions. Narrowly targeted policies, like last year’s Protecting Consumers from Payment Scams Act, won’t cut it.
Stopping these acts requires a comprehensive approach that focuses on the criminals themselves, not the systems they use to rob Americans.
As someone who has worked to stop crimes, here are a few solutions that I believe Congress should deploy.
For starters, Congress must better equip law enforcement with the resources to both identify and prosecute scammers. Local and state police, along with federal agencies like the FBI, must be given what they need to track down crooks and protect the public.
Congress can also create a cross-agency taskforce that works in coordination with local law enforcement to root out scammers. At the same time, this task force can serve as a resource to Americans, both educating them on how to avoid falling victim to scams, as well as providing a central place to report crimes.
Lastly, given that this issue is not localized to the United States, more aggressive international cooperation is needed. We need to work with other nations to shut down the foreign scam centers that prey on Americans.
The threat of fraud and scams is not going away. In fact, as technology continues to advance, this is a problem that is only going to worsen. It’s imperative that we work toward comprehensive solutions now before we fall further behind.
Fortunately, Connecticut has leaders in Congress that recognize this threat, like Representative Jim Himes on the House Financial Services Committee. Before more of us fall victim, we need him and others to work to protect Americans and reign in criminals.
Anthony Spinella is a former state criminal prosecutor who practices law in Manchester.
