By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE U.S. Treasury has identified nearly $13 billion in suspicious transactions linked to suspected digital asset fraud operated by overseas scam centers.
FinCEN, the Treasury’s financial crimes agency, analysed 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports filed between September 2023 and December 2025. These reports involved approximately $12.7 billion in financial activity tied to suspected digital asset investment scams.
“These scams are largely perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations based in Southeast Asia, which operate industrial-scale scam compounds and leverage vast networks of criminal actors to facilitate and profit from scams,” FinCEN said.
“Criminals use fake personas and social engineering tactics to manipulate victims, who are often American, into transferring funds to fraudulent digital asset investments “
Gene Lange, who is performing the duties of the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said: “Digital asset investment scams pose one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans today.”
“The transnational criminal organizations behind these scams exploit both emerging technologies and human vulnerabilities, resulting in devastating financial losses for innocent American victims.”
Teasury warns of scam center operations
BSA reports showed that fraudsters targeted people of all ages across all 50 states and several U.S. territories.
“Illicit actors often used assumed names or identities to pose as potential romantic partners, new friends, or new business partners to target scam victims.,” FinCEN said.
“Scammers often created websites and mobile applications that imitated legitimate investment services to carry out their criminal activity.”
FinCEN identified an ecosystem of services supporting scam center operators. This includes “guarantee marketplaces”, where operators can buy services such as online account creation, phishing and money laundering.
Professional money launderers help operators establish financial accounts and shell companies and move funds.
“Professional money launderers integrate scam proceeds into the formal financial system through networks of money mules and through stablecoin transfers to digital asset exchanges outside of the United States,” FinCEN said.
FinCEN has issued an alert identifying red flags to help financial institutions detect suspicious activity linked to scam centers. It is available [HERE].
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