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The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 19 entities and individuals in Myanmar and Cambodia for operating large-scale cyber scam centers. These operations, linked to the Karen National Army and organized crime groups, have stolen over $10 billion from Americans in 2024 and are notorious for using forced labor and human trafficking. The sanctions block these entities from the U.S. financial system and aim to disrupt their operations and financial networks.
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The United States government has established a dedicated Scam Center Strike Force to target large-scale cyber scam operations based in Southeast Asia, which have defrauded Americans of at least $10 billion in 2024 alone. This multi-agency task force, comprising the Department of Justice, Treasury, FBI, Secret Service, and State Department, will focus on investigating, disrupting, and prosecuting the leaders and infrastructure behind these scam centers, particularly in Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, and Laos. The operations often involve romance scams, fraudulent investment schemes, and cryptocurrency-related fraud, with many scam centers relying on forced labor and human trafficking to sustain their activities. In conjunction with the task force's launch, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), an armed group supporting scam compounds in Myanmar, as well as several companies in Thailand linked to Chinese organized crime. The US has already seized over $410 million in cryptocurrency assets and is pursuing further forfeitures. These actions build on previous sanctions against other transnational criminal organizations, such as the Prince Group, and reflect a broader US strategy to dismantle the infrastructure enabling large-scale cyber fraud and to provide restitution and education to victims.
Jun 29, 2026
U.S. authorities and private-sector partners disrupted transnational scam compounds in Southeast Asia that were tied to **pig-butchering cryptocurrency fraud**, broader confidence scams, and human trafficking networks used to supply forced labor. Reporting says the **Scam Center Strike Force**, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with support from the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, Treasury, and State Department, helped neutralize **1.4 million malicious accounts**, disable supporting infrastructure, and seize more than **500 fake investment domains**. Meta, Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other partners were also identified as participants in the disruption effort. The campaign was paired with financial and enforcement actions aimed at the ecosystem enabling the fraud. According to public reporting, U.S. authorities froze more than **$832 million** in cryptocurrency and seized major Telegram recruitment channels allegedly used to traffic workers into scam compounds. Treasury also announced sanctions against a Burma-based armed group and associated companies linked to organized crime targeting Americans, underscoring a broader U.S. effort to pressure entities accused of protecting or facilitating the scam-center industry.
Jul 18, 2026The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) has identified evidence of cyber-scam center activity in Timor-Leste, indicating a shift by criminal syndicates to less prepared jurisdictions. This move follows increased law enforcement pressure in traditional Southeast Asian hotspots and coincides with new US Treasury sanctions targeting scam centers in Myanmar and Cambodia. The sanctions block US entities from engaging with individuals and organizations linked to these operations.
Jun 29, 2026