Protecting Main Street: U.S. Strike Force Combats $10B Crypto Scam Surge

The U.S. Department of Justice has established a new multi-agency Scam Center Strike Force to address the rising tide of cryptocurrency investment scams run by international criminal groups in Southeast Asia. Announced on November 12, 2025, this task force is focused on breaking up operations that steal close to $10 billion from Americans each year. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro highlighted the importance of "protecting everyday Americans from these fraudulent schemes"

. The initiative brings together the DOJ’s Criminal Division, the FBI, and the U.S. Secret Service, combining legal, investigative, and intelligence resources to go after both overseas perpetrators and domestic infrastructure that supports these scams .

Law enforcement often refers to this type of fraud as "pig butchering," where scammers gain victims’ trust through social media or text messages before convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms. Many of these fraudulent sites are hosted by U.S. companies and are set up to funnel money into accounts managed by organized crime syndicates in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar

. After the funds are moved, the cryptocurrency is quickly laundered outside the reach of U.S. authorities, leaving victims with little hope of recovery . In some Southeast Asian regions, the scale of these scams is so large that their proceeds make up nearly half of the local GDP .

The Strike Force’s approach includes recovering stolen assets, shutting down U.S.-based websites and social media accounts used in scams, and prosecuting key figures behind these operations. Recent efforts have resulted in the confiscation of $401 million in cryptocurrency and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) listing the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and related groups as specially-designated nationals (SDNs) . FBI personnel have also worked alongside international partners, such as Thailand’s Royal Thai Police, to disrupt scam compounds like KK Park in Burma .

Global collaboration is essential in this fight. South Korea has already taken action, with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun urging Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to intensify efforts against scam centers. The two countries have agreed to form a joint police task force following the tragic death of South Korean student Park Min-ho, who was allegedly deceived and killed in Cambodia in August. Cambodian officials have since sent back 64 South Koreans involved in scam operations, though many are facing fraud charges

.

The financial damage from these scams goes far beyond individual losses. Experts believe that many cases go unreported, and actual yearly losses could reach $140 billion. These scams often target vulnerable groups, such as seniors, by taking advantage of their social isolation

. The Strike Force’s Crypto Seizure team has started returning money to victims, initiating forfeiture proceedings for $80 million in recovered assets .

Some critics say that the U.S. must also keep up pressure on Southeast Asian governments to break down the networks that enable these crimes. “Scam centers are causing a massive transfer of wealth from ordinary Americans to Chinese organized crime groups,” Pirro stated, stressing the importance of public-private partnerships to prevent U.S. infrastructure from being exploited against its citizens

.