FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers

Urges Financial Institutions to be Vigilant and Report Suspicious Activity

WASHINGTON-Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published an analysis and an alert to financial institutions to be vigilant to digital asset investment scams perpetrated by overseas scam centers. Today's action is the latest in Treasury's efforts to protect Americans from fraud.

Digital asset investment scams-also known as "pig butchering," "romance baiting," or "cryptocurrency confidence schemes"-are sophisticated fraud operations. Criminals use fake personas and social engineering tactics to manipulate victims, who are often American, into transferring funds to fraudulent digital asset investments. 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.

"Digital asset investment scams pose one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans today," said Gene Lange, who is performing the duties of Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "The transnational criminal organizations behind these scams exploit both emerging technologies and human vulnerabilities, resulting in devastating financial losses for innocent American victims."

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Reports Highlight Rising Rate of Suspected Scam Activity

• As discussed in the FTA, FinEN analyzed 33,904 BSA reports involving suspected digital asset investment scam-related activity filed between September 8, 2023, and December 31, 2025, totaling approximately $12.7 billion in financial activity tied to suspected digital asset investment scams.
• Individuals of all ages were the target of suspected digital asset investment scams across all 50 states and several U.S. territories, according to BSA reports.
• Analysis of BSA reporting indicated use of a variety of well-known fraud tactics. Illicit actors often used assumed names or identities to pose as potential romantic partners, new friends, or new business partners to target scam victims. Scammers often created websites and mobile applications that imitated legitimate investment services to carry out their criminal activity.

Scam Center Operators Use "Guarantee Marketplaces" and Professional Money Launderers to Facilitate Illicit Activity

• Guarantee marketplaces are online markets where scam center operators purchase illicit services, such as online account creation, phishing, and money laundering services.
• Scam center operators use professional money launderers to establish financial accounts and shell companies, as well as to 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.

Alert Identifies Key Indicators of Illicit Activity Linked to Scam Centers

• FinCEN has identified red flags to help financial institutions detect, prevent, and report suspicious activity connected to scam centers. BSA reporting is essential to supporting law enforcement investigations and victim recovery efforts.
• FinCEN strongly encourages financial institutions to participate in voluntary information sharing under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, which allows institutions to share information regarding activities that may involve money laundering or terrorist activity while receiving safe harbor protections from liability.

As the financial intelligence unit (FIU) of the United States, FinCEN operates a Rapid Response Program, using its authority to share financial intelligence rapidly with counterpart FIUs and encourages foreign authorities to stop and repatriate the fraudulent transactions using authorities under their respective legal and regulatory frameworks. Victims of cyber-enabled fraud should immediately contact their financial institution and file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and/or the nearest U.S. Secret Service field office.

Today's Alert and Financial Trend Analysis aim to defend the U.S. financial system against cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes, an objective of Executive Order 14390, "Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens."

Resources:

• FinCEN Alert on Money Laundering Activity Associated with Digital Asset Investment Scam Centers
• Financial Trend Analysis: Digital Asset Investment Scams: 2023-2025 Threat Pattern & Trend Information

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