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OPINION:
The Trump administration has proved beyond any doubt that it is serious about stopping the flow of drugs into this country.
Just ask Colombia. Over the course of the past year, Colombia’s president made a fundamental mistake: He publicly antagonized the United States. That changed quickly once the Trump administration made clear that it would act decisively against threats to U.S. security, including drug trafficking and regional instability.
In response, Colombia’s president came to Washington last month to seek “closer ties.”
Or ask Latin American drug cartels. Because of decisive kinetic action against drug trafficking, top drug cartel traffickers decided to cease their narcotics operations indefinitely.
By targeting not only individual traffickers but also the cartels that support them, the administration has demonstrated how sustained, whole-of-government pressure can weaken transnational criminal organizations.
Drugs aren’t the only way foreign criminal operations are preying on American citizens. International fraud — outright theft from our people — is at least as big a threat to our prosperity as are drug cartels. We must bring that same urgency to them that the Trump administration has brought to bear on drug trafficking so we can confront international fraud syndicates that exploit Americans from overseas.
The scope of international scams is mind-blowing. International scammers have stolen more than $1 trillion worldwide, and the problem is only getting worse.
Identity crime has entered a dangerous new phase. In fact, reported losses reached $12.5 billion in 2024, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That was an all-time record and represented a 558% increase from five years earlier.
Real cases show the heartbreak involved. Just weeks ago, in San Diego, a defendant pleaded guilty to participating in an international elder fraud scheme that stole more than $40 million from more than 500 victims. Many lost their entire life savings.
Technology is exacerbating the scam problem, and fast. Artificial intelligence now allows scammers to convincingly fake voices and faces, all while impersonating family members, police officers, doctors or government officials. Authorities warn that these tools make scams quicker to execute, more believable and far harder to detect.
Many are carried out by individuals who are themselves victims, trafficked, detained and forced to conduct social engineering schemes under threat of violence. The International Criminal Police Organization estimates that victims from more than 60 countries have been trafficked into scam operations. West Africa has emerged as a regional hub as criminal networks expand beyond Southeast Asia.
This international identity crime has become a transnational criminal enterprise that mirrors global drug trafficking in structure and threat. It should thus be treated as such.
That raises the question: What can the U.S. executive and legislative branches do to remedy the problem?
First, they can elevate transnational identity theft and fraud as national security priorities. Formal designation would help ensure sustained focus, resources and coordination across federal agencies.
Second, the U.S. must deepen its cooperation with international partners. America has a central role to play in extinguishing the criminals and their fraud networks, but these networks are global in scope and thus cannot be dismantled by one country alone. Expanding and replicating multinational efforts such as Operation First Light, a 60-plus-country initiative that has led to thousands of arrests and more than $250 million in seized assets worldwide, would strengthen efforts to disrupt fraud hubs, seize illicit proceeds and prosecute these criminals.
Third, America’s digital infrastructure must be strengthened. Social platforms, telecommunication channels and other technologies that facilitate communication should be expected to implement effective safeguards and address systemic failures that allow criminals to prey on Americans.
Although the Trump administration has shown it can act decisively, Congress — especially the Committee on Financial Services, one of the committees on which I served while representing South Carolina — has a critical role to play here as well. By updating the nation’s fraud statutes to increase penalties for cross-border identity crimes and streamlining extradition, lawmakers can drastically mitigate the number of cases that occur within U.S. borders annually.
Yes, these criminal networks are global, adaptive and relentless. Yet with firm leadership, coordinated enforcement and accountability across the digital ecosystem, the federal government can dismantle them and make the digital world safer.
The Trump administration has already started this process by appointing a new assistant attorney general to police fraud. Now it just needs to work with Congress and long-standing international partners to finish the job.
• Mick Mulvaney is a former Trump White House chief of staff and director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of Management and Budget.
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