The U.S. sanctioned Southeast Asian scam networks after Americans lost over $10 billion to online fraud in 2024.
Americans lost more than $10 billion to fraudulent online activities orchestrated from Southeast Asia in 2024, the U.S. State Department disclosed on Monday.
In a statement citing government estimates, Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the rising wave of internet scams. He noted that “criminal actors across Southeast Asia have increasingly exploited internet users,” highlighting the dangers posed by transnational cartels.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) responded by imposing sanctions on nine targets operating in Shwe Kokko, Burma. Authorities allege that the scam hub is financed and shielded by the Karen National Army (KNA), which the State Department described as a transnational cartel facilitating fraud, forced labor, and other abuses.
Additionally, OFAC sanctioned four individuals and six entities in Cambodia accused of running scam centers targeting victims across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Rubio said the action aims to protect Americans from “the pervasive threat of criminal networks.”