New Strike Force Set to Target Overseas 'Pig Butchering' As U.S. Hits Burma Operation

U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, are establishing a new Scam Center Strike Force to counter industrial-scale 'pig butchering' scams that defraud victims using cryptocurrency. These scams are often coordinated by organized crime in Southeast Asian locations like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines. Concurrently, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned armed groups, companies, and individuals in Burma associated with the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and scam centers allegedly backed by Chinese criminal organizations. The strike force, led by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, aims to dismantle these transnational criminal enterprises, which have stolen tens of billions from Americans. Officials noted the staggering scale of these operations, emphasizing that no single agency can tackle the issue alone. The sanctions against Burmese entities also indicated that scam proceeds are funding Burma's civil war.

(Source：CoinDesk)