ASA Outlines Recommendations to Protect American Investors from Fraud

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) today sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee outlining recommendations to strengthen financial fraud protections and crack down on foreign exploitation of American investors. ASA's letter comes as the Committee today holds a hearing to examine how financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement can better combat fraud and protect America’s investors and savers.

"ASA applauds Chairman Barr for leading the effort to protect American investors from the fraud networks sponsored by foreign adversaries, like Communist China and Russia," said ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella. "Protecting America’s seniors, working families, and savers from fraud—whether domestic or foreign in origin—is a bipartisan priority and a core obligation for financial institutions, regulators, and policymakers."

ASA's key recommendations include:

• Strengthen public-private partnerships to stop fraud. ASA urges closer collaboration between government agencies and financial firms, especially on cybersecurity and fraud detection. ASA recommends that Congress and regulators design incentives so firms are rewarded—not punished—for promptly reporting fraud and threats.

• Create an anonymous reporting portal for scams. ASA recommends Congress adopt a secure portal where regulated firms can anonymously report trends or specific fraudulent activity targeting their firm or customers, giving regulators more timely intelligence on new scams without fear of retribution.

• Focus on emerging threats like AI-driven fraud. In previous comments to the House Financial Services Committee, we highlighted the rise of AI-generated fraud and detailed some of the schemes foreign state actors (such as the Russian and Chinese government) use to target American families and investors.

• Advance bipartisan legislation such as the No China in Index Funds Act and make certain the Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart (FIGHT) China Act is implemented to prevent American retirement and savings capital from financing CCP‑controlled or CCP‑backed companies that pose fraud, cyber, and national‑security risks.

• Review how large‑scale regulatory data‑collection initiatives, like the SEC Consolidated Audit Trail or CAT, expose investors to fraud and cyber risk. This Congress must not allow regulators and market utilities to collect and retain, in any form, the personal and financial information of Americans that could be turned against them.

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The American Securities Association (ASA) represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.