The United to Stop Online Scams coalition debuted its campaign with a livestream viewed by over 20,000 people, featuring testimonies from victims and lawmakers including Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Valerie Foushee. The group argues that current measures are insufficient as AI-powered deepfakes and voice cloning make scams increasingly difficult for the average user to identify. According to the Consumer Federation of America, Americans lost $148.2 billion to online crimes in 2025 alone.
A central focus of the movement is the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) initiative, which released a public service announcement featuring Kate Kleinert, a Pennsylvania widow who lost $39,000 to a romance scam. The coalition is pressing Congress to move beyond voluntary industry guidelines, calling for legally mandated fraud prevention protocols. Members of the group assert that companies like Meta must be held financially and operationally responsible for the infrastructure that facilitates these crimes, rather than placing the onus of security solely on the public.
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