The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it has implemented sanctions against large scam centers across Southeast Asia.
The centers allegedly use forced labor and violence to scam Americans out of billions of dollars, officials said. The latest action includes sanctions against nine targets operating in Shwe Kokko, Burma, an alleged hub for virtual currency investment scams under the protection of OFAC-designated Karen National Army (KNA), as well as 10 targets in Cambodia.
“Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said. “In 2024, unsuspecting Americans lost over $10 billion due to Southeast Asia-based scams and under President Trump and Secretary Bessent’s leadership, the Treasury will deploy the full weight of its tools to combat organized financial crime and protect Americans from the extensive damage these scams can cause.”
Officials said the sanctions target the ownership structures and operators of the scams and build on other actions taken by the Treasury to combat cyber scams over the past few months. The sanctions are part of an Executive Order that targets large transnational criminal organizations and their supporters, and an Executive Order that targets actors engaged in malicious cyber-enabled activities, and an Executive Order that targets those engaged in serious human rights violations.
A federal estimate put the amount lost by Americans due to cyber scams from Southeast Asia about $10 billion last year, a 66 percent increase over 2023. Officials said the organizations recruit individuals under false pretenses and then use debt bondage, violence and the threat of forced prostitution to coerce individuals into scamming strangers online through messaging apps or text messaging.