The Somali fraud is only a drop in the bucket, as it compares to the elaborate Indian fraud and scam networks that are taking American tech jobs and hurting the American economy, through H-1B visas, bought degrees and…
The Somali fraud is only a drop in the bucket, as it compares to the elaborate Indian fraud and scam networks that are taking American tech jobs and hurting the American economy, through H-1B visas, bought degrees and fake certifications.
Since COVID, 90% of the net gain in American jobs have gone to foreign workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Tech companies are passing over American college students for foreign workers, many of whom have scam degrees and certifications. In a study conducted by the Institute for Sound Public Policy, 60% of American citizens and 86% of foreign Computer Science Master’s graduates got jobs six months after graduation from UMass Amherst in 2022.
In one instance, the University of Pittsburgh tried to hire for a tech position, yet the position was open only to candidates with an H-1B visa. And another in a taxpayer-funded university in Indiana. Another at Stanford.
By allowing the prioritization of H-1B workers in STEM, the market has been flooded with fake foreign degrees while devaluing science and engineering degrees for American college grads, leaving American STEM talent more susceptible to under and unemployment.
A South China Morning Post expose revealed an India-based University, Manav Bharti University (MBU), reportedly sold 36,000 fake degrees over 11 years for less than $5,000 each- and U.S. employers accepted them!
The bottom line is that people with fake degrees do not compare in quality to American workers with American degrees and certifications, which has had broad effects throughout the American tech industry, including massive bugs, cloud malfunctions and cybersecurity failures.
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On Cyber Monday in December 2025, Shopify, a user of H1-B labor for tech, had a massive glitch failure that halted their ability to process transactions, causing a 6% drop in Shopify stock, not to mention, the thousands of small businesses that could not process orders on the highest day of online sales.
H-1B visas may be great for short-term quarterly gains of the highest performing U.S. technology-sector stocks, “Mag 7,” but fraud is terrible for the American economy and national security.
In a push against Indian outsourcing, conservatives have generated enthusiasm, saying “Make Call Centers Great Again,” citing an overall dissatisfaction with customer support call centers.
Democratic Sen. Gallego of Arizona introduced the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 in July of last year, aimed at making companies that relocate call centers overseas ineligible for federal grants and loans.
In September 2025, the late activist Charlie Kirk took to X saying,
“America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first.”
While the Trump administration has begun cracking down on H-1B visas, it doesn’t touch the H-1B visa holders already here in the U.S.
These are non-U.S. citizens, many of whom have lied to get access to American tech positions, yet the system grants the tech industry access to the personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans; how are we making sure that this sensitive data does not end up in the hands of scammers in India?
In February, a year-long, expanding FBI investigation found more than 650 victims targeted by the same three call centers in India, losing over $48 million. The fraudsters posed as tech support workers, allowing them to gain access to victims’ computers, or described themselves as American law enforcement as part of elaborate ruses.
In fact, 31% of Americans report receiving at least one scam call a day, while 68% report receiving at least one a week. 73% of Americans have experienced some kind of online scam or attack, meaning this fraud and corruption issue could be the campaign issue of the year.
It’s an issue stemming from a culture of fraud that has enabled elaborate Indian fraud markets, which have used American data to scam America’s most vulnerable daily.
The American people have become accustomed to Indian scams and, unfortunately, have been led to believe that this is just the new normal in the new tech era.
The Minnesota Somali fraud unveiled a network taking advantage of government subsidies. But, the Indian fraud market goes much further by taking advantage of American systems and displacing Americans who have earned legitimate degrees.
It’s a theft of opportunity from Americans with hard-earned certifications and a theft of the American economy.
With the Trump administration pushing what is now being called ‘Nations First’ and a continuation of Western Hemisphere ideals — specifically that crime must be contained within a country’s own borders rather than exporting into the United States — the issue of H-1B and Indian scams could be solved with the same principle: India should be solving this crime within its own borders first. What is needed is a two-step approach, passing the enforcement on India, while also simultaneously introducing legitimate congressional action.
With midterms only months away, a crackdown on Indian fraud and scams could very well be an important 80-20 foreign policy issue for Republicans.
Carla Sands is the former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. She currently serves as the Chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Foreign Policy Initiative and is a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Energy & Environment at AFPI. Samantha Flanigan serves as the Global Coalitions and Foreign Policy Coordinator at America First Policy Institute. Prior to joining AFPI, Flanigan worked in the civilian defense sector, supporting the intelligence community, and as a political strategist. She is also an active member of the U.S. Army Reserves.
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