Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act

The following analysis is based on draft bill text that was made available by the House of Representatives and may differ from the bill text as introduced. Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act This bill establishes an interagency task force to shut down criminal syndicates perpetuating mass online scams. This bill also explicitly authorizes sanctions against foreign individuals or entities operating or providing support to scam compounds. (Scam compounds target individuals for financial fraud and are concentrated in Southeast Asia.)   The President must establish an interagency task force to shut down transnational criminal syndicates that use large scam centers and forced labor of trafficked persons to perpetuate mass online scams against Americans. The task force must submit to Congress and oversee implementation of a strategy to combat scam centers, dismantle the criminal elements involved with them, and hold corrupt officials accountable. The task force must periodically report to Congress, including a list of foreign persons sanctioned by the United States for their involvement with online financial scams from Southeast Asia against U.S. nationals. The President is explicitly authorized to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on (1) any foreign individual or entity that owns, controls, directs, or provides significant support to a significant scam compound operation or an enabling service; and (2) foreign government officials who knowingly enable or benefit from scam compound operations within their jurisdiction. The Department of State is authorized to provide (1) trauma-informed care and other support services for trafficked persons within online scam centers, and (2) high-resolution satellite imagery to nongovernmental organizations and research institutions for the purposes of monitoring and documenting human rights abuses related to online scam centers in Southeast Asia.