A review of nearly 34,000 financial reports found suspected digital-asset investment fraud affecting people across all 50 US states and several territories.

The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has identified approximately $12.7 billion in financial activity linked to suspected cryptocurrency investment scams, many of which were allegedly operated from overseas scam compounds.

In a report released on Sept. 3, FinCEN said it analyzed 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed between Sept. 8, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2025. The reports involved suspected digital-asset investment scams targeting people of all ages across all 50 states and several US territories.

The $12.7 billion figure represents financial activity identified in the reports and should not necessarily be interpreted as the total amount victims lost. It also does not capture incidents that were never reported to financial institutions or authorities.

“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,” he added.

Scammers use fake relationships and investment platforms

FinCEN said the activity included schemes commonly described as “pig butchering,” “romance baiting” and “cryptocurrency confidence schemes.”

In these operations, criminals typically create fake identities and establish relationships with prospective victims by presenting themselves as romantic interests, friends or business contacts. After gaining a victim’s trust, they promote fraudulent cryptocurrency investments with false promises of substantial returns.

Scammers may also create websites and mobile applications designed to resemble legitimate investment platforms. These services can display fabricated account balances and profits, encouraging victims to transfer additional money before discovering that they cannot withdraw their funds.

According to FinCEN, the scams are largely conducted by transnational criminal organizations operating industrial-scale compounds in Southeast Asia. These networks rely on a broader ecosystem of service providers and financial facilitators to carry out fraud and move the resulting proceeds.

The agency said operators use online “guarantee marketplaces” to purchase services such as phishing tools, online accounts and money laundering. Professional money launderers may then establish shell companies and financial accounts or transfer proceeds through networks of money mules.

Some funds are moved in stablecoins to cryptocurrency exchanges located outside the United States before being integrated into the formal financial system, the agency said.

FinCEN urges financial institutions to monitor red flags

Alongside its analysis, FinCEN issued an alert identifying warning signs that could help banks and other financial institutions detect transactions connected to overseas scam compounds.

The agency encouraged institutions to report suspicious activity and participate in voluntary information sharing under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act. FinCEN said Bank Secrecy Act reporting can support

investigations and efforts to recover victims’ money.

FinCEN also operates a Rapid Response Program through which it shares intelligence with foreign financial intelligence units and seeks to stop and return fraudulent transfers.

Southeast Asian countries increase penalties

Governments in Southeast Asia have introduced tougher laws as international scrutiny of scam compounds has intensified.

Myanmar’s military-backed Parliament approved an Anti-Online Scam Bill on July 28. The legislation provides prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life for some offenses and allows capital punishment in cases involving

violence, torture, unlawful detention or other cruel treatment used to force people into online scams.

Cambodia’s Parliament unanimously approved its first dedicated law targeting technology-based scam operations in March. The legislation, which was promulgated in April, introduced prison sentences and substantial fines, with the most serious offenses—including cases involving human trafficking, illegal confinement or deaths—potentially carrying life imprisonment. Reuters reported that the law followed growing international pressure over the

country’s scam-center industry.

FinCEN advised victims of cyber-enabled fraud to contact their financial institution immediately and submit a complaint to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or the nearest US Secret Service field office.