Key Takeaways
- U.S. and U.K. agencies will investigate common targets in parallel.
- Crypto scam centers cost Americans nearly $10 billion each year.
- Officials plan a joint industry disruption event in October.
US and UK Agencies Coordinate Scam Center Cases
Federal prosecutors and British authorities established a joint framework on Sept. 3 to pursue transnational networks operating cryptocurrency and cyber-enabled investment scams. The first-of-its-kind cooperation agreement joins the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales and the U.K. National Crime Agency. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Crown Prosecutor for England and Wales Stephen Parkinson, and National Crime Agency Director General Graeme Biggar signed the agreement for their respective agencies.
Participating agencies will conduct parallel investigations into shared targets, exchange information about organized crime syndicates, and determine where to bring cases of common interest. On Aug. 27, Britain separately secured support from Five Eyes, which comprises the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, for faster intelligence sharing and coordinated efforts to disable accounts, communications channels, and financial services used by international scam networks.
The U.S. Scam Center Strike Force began operating in November 2025 against Chinese transnational criminal organizations running compounds primarily in Southeast Asia. Its original Justice Department mandate combined prosecutors, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and other agencies to pursue fraud, money laundering, digital infrastructure, and cryptocurrency connected to operations in Cambodia, Laos, and Burma.
Fraud Losses Expose the Scale of Overseas Networks
Reported internet crime losses reached $20.88 billion in 2025, including $11.37 billion associated with cryptocurrency, according to the FBI’s annual internet crime findings. Investment fraud produced $8.65 billion in reported losses, while cryptocurrency investment fraud alone accounted for approximately $7.2 billion, making it the largest source of reported financial losses to Americans.
Scam centers typically use schemes often called “pig butchering,” relying on unsolicited messages, social media, dating applications, and fake investment platforms to cultivate trust before directing victims to transfer cryptocurrency. Authorities say many compounds rely on trafficked workers who are held under coercive conditions and forced to defraud targets. Common crypto fraud warning signs include guaranteed returns, unsolicited investment offers, copied websites, and requests for passwords or recovery phrases.
President Donald Trump directed federal agencies on March 6 to develop stronger operational, diplomatic, technical, and regulatory responses to foreign scam centers. Executive Order 14390 required an action plan identifying responsible criminal organizations and proposing measures to prevent, disrupt, investigate, and dismantle them.
Earlier Actions Put Crypto Seizures at the Center
Financial disruption has become a central element of the campaign against scam compounds and their international money laundering channels. By April, federal authorities had restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to scam-center laundering, while the State Department offered up to $10 million for information leading to the financial disruption of Burma’s Tai Chang scam centers.
A separate enforcement case sought the forfeiture of approximately 127,271 BTC, valued at about $15 billion when prosecutors filed the action against Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi. The record bitcoin forfeiture action accompanied broader pressure on alleged scam operations involving cryptocurrency fraud, organized crime, money laundering, and human trafficking across Southeast Asia and other regions.
Public-private operations have also targeted the communications and financial infrastructure that allows overseas networks to reach American victims. During a May disruption campaign, participating companies interrupted more than 1.4 million scam-linked accounts and helped freeze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency. U.S. and U.K. authorities will join private industry partners for a National Crime Agency-hosted disruption event in London in early October.
Be the first to comment