Program History and Statutory Authorities

Rewards for Justice (RFJ), the U.S. Department of State’s national security rewards program, was established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, Public Law 98-533 (codified at 22 U.S.C. § 2708). Administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, RFJ’s mission is to offer rewards to obtain information that protects American lives and U.S. interests and furthers U.S. national security.  

Since 1984, Congress has expanded RFJ’s statutory authorities to offer rewards for information in four broad categories:

• Terrorism. For information that:
  • Leads to the arrest or conviction of anyone who plans, commits, aids, or attempts international terrorist acts against U.S. persons or property in the United States or abroad;
  • Prevents such acts from occurring in the first place;
  • Identifies or locates a key terrorist leader; or
  • Disrupts the financial mechanisms of foreign terrorist organizations.  This includes the disruption of kidnapping networks and kidnapping events that financially support such organizations.

• Foreign Election Interference. For information that:
  • Leads to the identification or location of any foreign person who knowingly engaged or is engaging in foreign election interference, including activity that violates federal criminal, voting rights, or campaign finance law, or such activity that is performed by any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of, or in coordination with, a foreign government or criminal enterprise.
  • Leads to the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act of foreign election interference.

• Malicious Cyber Activity. For information that:

• • Identifies or locates any individual who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, aids or abets a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act  (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030.  This includes foreign election interference.
• North Korea. For information that:

• • Disrupts the financial mechanisms of persons or entities engaged in certain activities supporting the North Korean regime; or
  • Identifies or locates any individual who, while acting at the direction or under the control of the North Korean government, aids or abets a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act  (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030.  This includes cyber-attacks and intrusions on U.S. government systems.

Advertising Reward Offers

Once the Secretary of State has authorized a reward offer, RFJ advertises it and engages with target audiences in a culturally appropriate manner using a variety of tools, including social media, social chat applications, and traditional media.

Processing Tips

RFJ advertisements direct individuals to text their information to RFJ’s language-specific tips lines via several widely available and encrypted messaging applications, including Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Individuals also may submit their information via e-mail and social media accounts. RFJ disseminates the appropriate tip information to other USG agencies. 

Payment of Rewards

If the information provided by an informant results in a positive outcome, the U.S. investigative agency working on that case may decide to nominate the informant for a reward payment. Nominations for payment are reviewed by an interagency committee and then sent to the Secretary for a decision on whether to make a payment.

Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid out in excess of $250 million to more than 125 people across the globe who provided actionable information that helped resolve threats to U.S. national security.