Accurate estimates are hard to come by.
Whatever the actual number, the track record at uncovering customs fraud could be improved. Even Customs' own statistics show that the revenue gap from uncollected duties has nearly doubled from 1995 to 1997. Tackling customs fraud is tough for agency officials to take on alone. Commercial entries have increased steadily throughout the 1990s, topping 20 million in 1998, while the number of Customs fraud investigations from 1994 to 1997 has stayed steady at about 17,000. The False Claims Act, a powerful, civil anti-fraud statute, allows anyone who knows of a fraud against the government to file a lawsuit and recover damages and fines on the government's behalf.