What Happened?
Americans lost an estimated $12.5 billion in 2025 to online scam centers operating from Southeast Asia, according to a new report by Congress' research branch. [](#ngr-63c64024-ec1e-420f-8e99-974b4ae2d11e)
The centers are concentrated in Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, and Laos, run by criminal syndicates linked to China, local criminal groups, and political elites. The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated Americans lost roughly $17.7 billion to cyber-enabled fraud overall in 2025, a 26 percent increase from 2024, with cryptocurrency investment scams accounting for $7.2 billion of that total.
Why Does it Matter to Me?
The true scale is likely larger: the illicit nature of these operations and widespread underreporting make losses difficult to measure.
The workforce running these operations involves 300,000 people from 66 countries, many lured by fraudulent job offers and held against their will, according to a United Nations estimate cited in the report.
Both Sides, Now
The Trump administration created the Scam Center Strike Force (SCSF) in November 2025, headed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. The SCSF had restrained more than $938 million in cryptocurrency as of Sept. 15, the report says, and imposed sanctions on Cambodian Senator Kok An, offered a $10 million reward, and ran a Dubai operation in April that resulted in at least 276 arrests.
Critics argue enforcement may displace these operations rather than dismantle them. In June 2026, Amnesty International reported that a survivor trafficked as a teenager was moved between compounds during Cambodia's crackdown, and described some interventions as undermined by apparent collusion between compound managers and police.
The report notes it is unclear whether recent actions will lead to long-term disruption, and that targeted enforcement has so far forced operations to adapt, disperse, or relocate. Some observers have reported that the International Organization for Migration and similar groups have faced funding constraints exacerbated by U.S. foreign assistance cuts since 2025, complicating support for survivors.
What Happens Next?
Members of Congress have introduced several bills in the 119th Congress, including the Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act (H.R. 5490) and the Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization Act (S. 2950), which together would require interagency task forces, government-wide strategies, and expanded sanctions authorities, according to the report. Neither has cleared a committee vote.
On Sept. 15, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast and Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar wrote to the secretaries of State and Treasury requesting investigations and, where legal criteria are met, sanctions on 26 individuals and two companies.
---
AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.
---
Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article