The US Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released an analysis on Thursday, Sep 4, 2026, linking crypto-related fraud against US residents to overseas scam centers.
FinCEN reviewed more than 33,000 suspected crypto-scam reports filed between September 2023 and December 2025. The review identified about $12.7 billion in crypto transactions described as perpetrated by overseas scam centers, and about $13 billion in related financial transactions overall.
The report cites pig butchering, romance scams, and cryptocurrency confidence schemes in which victims are steered into crypto investments with false return promises. FinCEN said transnational criminal organizations based in compounds in Southeast Asia were largely behind the digital-asset scams targeting US residents. Secondary coverage noted that similar compounds appear to be spreading beyond Southeast Asia.
Gene Lange, performing the duties of Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said digital asset investment scams pose one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans today.
The FinCEN release lands amid regional legislative pressure on scam-center operators. Myanmar’s Parliament approved related legislation in July that can impose up to life in prison for operators who used violence, torture, or unlawful detention to force people into scam work. Cambodian lawmakers proposed a similar measure in April.
The figures come from a primary US financial-intelligence agency review of BSA-style scam reporting, not from a single private blockchain firm estimate.
US Treasury FinCEN analysis (Cointelegraph, Sep 4, 2026)