GAO sees ‘mixed’ agency response to recommendations on combatting scams

The response of three federal agencies to a Government Accountability Office report last year on combatting scams has been decidedly “mixed,” a watchdog official told lawmakers this week.

Appearing Wednesday before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the GAO’s Seto Bagdoyan said the FBI, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have “agreed with some recommendations” in the April 2025 report “and disagreed with or took no explicit positions on others.” 

Bagdoyan, director for the watchdog’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Service team, said the “mixed” nature of the “agencies’ rejoinders” falls far short of the “decisive, expeditious federal response” required to counter the risks posed by money-making scams.

“While we acknowledge agencies’ positions on these challenging undertakings, it’s imperative for them to implement all recommendations,” Bagdoyan said. “Otherwise, the governmentwide strategy will ultimately be ineffective.”

In the initial report, the GAO found a scattershot system to fight scams spread across multiple agencies. There was no estimate for how much money has been lost to tech-fueled cons, nor was there even a common definition for the word “scam.”

With those findings in mind, the GAO delivered six recommendations to the FBI, six to the CFPB and six to the FTC, putting the bureau specifically in charge of coordinating an agency-wide counter-scam effort. 

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, the GAO reached back out to representatives with the FBI, CFPB and FTC for updates on their progress. In the updated report, the watchdog noted that the CFPB, for example, “did not specifically discuss actions it is taking to address the recommendations we made.” The agency agreed with many of the GAO’s takeaways, but it “believes it is prudent to closely monitor the actions of the FBI, FTC, and other stakeholders before determining whether any further CFPB action is warranted.”

Bagdoyan said the FBI, meanwhile, agreed to “assume the lead” on the governmentwide scam strategy and even outline initial steps. “However, its disagreement with other recommendations essential for an effective strategy, such as adopting a common definition, is concerning,” he added.

The FTC had similar pushbacks to the GAO’s recommendations, specifically in challenges it saw on “harmonizing” data collection, and estimating scam complaint numbers and the associated financial losses. 

“While the three agencies described actions they plan to take to implement our recommendations, they did not specify whether any of these are under way or when they might be initiated,” the GAO concluded. “Given the scope, scale, and nature of scams targeting consumers and the extent of financial and other harm they inflict, swift action by these agencies is needed to implement our recommendations.” 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who chairs the Senate Aging Committee, asked Bagdoyan how better coordination among agencies to combat digital scams would be effective in saving seniors money. The GAO director said seniors who find themselves on the receiving end of a scam don’t have an obvious place to turn to — they may reach out to the FBI, but the FTC or CFPB may be the more appropriate fit.  

“There are some agencies that accept consumer complaints,” Bagdoyan said. “But they will refer them to their own online educational materials, for example, rather than saying, ‘well, thank you for your call, but you should have gone to x.’ I don’t think that’s happening.”