The Office of the Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a major network of crypto scams in Southeast Asia.
Accordingly, the OFAC announced actions against 19 organizations in Southeast Asia, linked to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes.
They include nine in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, and ten in Cambodia.
These crypto scams reportedly cost Americans over $10 billion last year, a 66% jump from the previous year.
John K. Hurley, a senior Treasury official, attributed these scams to ‘modern slavery’.
“Crypto scams from Southeast Asia are harming Americans’ finances and trapping thousands in modern slavery,” he said.
How did the crypto scammers operate?
The criminal groups lure people with fake job offers, then use threats, violence, and debt to force them into running these scams.
A common trick, known as “pig-butchering,” involves scammers pretending to form romantic relationships with victims to gain their trust.
They then convince them to invest in fake crypto platforms, only to steal their money.
The US taking major steps to combat cybercrime
The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets of these groups and ban Americans from dealing with them.
Earlier this year, the Treasury also flagged Cambodia’s Huione Group for laundering money from crypto scams.
Additionally, an Arizona woman was sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for helping North Korean operatives.
Meanwhile, crypto detective ZachXBT found that crypto companies worldwide may have unknowingly hired over 900 North Korean hackers into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
In this context, it is extremely important to follow safety practices to remain safe in the crypto space.
