WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said that nearly three-quarters of American adults have faced online scams or cyberattacks, as he convened top officials to review his administration’s efforts to stem more than $20 billion in reported losses last year.

“And this is just what’s reported. So the number would be probably many times that amount,” Trump said during a White House roundtable on Oct. 21.

“Every American who has an aging parent, or a young son or daughter, has felt the anxiety of knowing that those you love are using internet service overrun by thieves and pirates, predators, and foreign criminals.”

War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and FBI Director Kash Patel also attended the roundtable held in the East Room.

In March, the president signed an executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate against online fraud and cybercrime. The order also established a program to help victims recover their forfeited funds.

In August, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum authorizing vetted companies to conduct cyber surveillance and offensive cyber operations against transnational criminal organizations.

Trump said that federal law enforcement has since warned more than 10,000 Americans targeted by scammers, and stopped at least $1.6 billion in losses so far this year. They’ve also frozen close to $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to overseas scammers, he said.

Speaking at the event, Blanche said social media companies Meta and X have been cooperating with law enforcement in identifying scam attempts.

“In April, the FBI and the Dubai Police announced the arrests of at least 276 individuals and the dismantlement of at least nine scam centers that targeted Americans,” Blanche said.

Mullin said that people over 60 lost $7.7 billion to cybercrimes in 2025.

“There’s a very clear connection between transnational cyber syndicates and enemy militaries,” Hegseth said. “If they can’t match us or beat us on the battlefield, which they can’t, then of course they try to move to the realm of cyberspace to attack.”

Speaking at the event, Patel highlighted the FBI’s Operation Blackout in Southeast Asia and Africa. He said the agency has demolished more than 20 compounds overseas and helped seize over $17 billion from these scam centers. Patel also highlighted how American tech giants like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and IBM have joined forces to combat cybercrime.

Americans lost an estimated $148.2 billion to online scams and crimes in 2025, about 26 percent more than the prior year, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America.

More than half of all reported losses involve cryptocurrency, the report said.

A recent Consumer Reports survey also found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans have faced a cyberattack attempt or digital scam, and 17 percent have fallen victim.

Artificial intelligence is making fraud faster and more personalized, the survey found, with many reporting that scam attempts are customized using personal information.

“I would say it’s a very negative thing, but what we’re doing is very positive,” Trump said before wrapping up his speech at the roundtable.

“We'll put a dent—a very big dent—hopefully, in what’s been taking place for really many decades. And it’s gone totally unchecked.”