U.S. Deploys Special Unit to Target Chinese Crypto Scammers

In Brief

• The U.S. has launched a task force to go after Chinese crypto scam networks targeting Americans.
• Authorities say the team will work to trace, seize, and recover illicitly obtained digital assets.
• The crackdown comes amid broader concerns on Chinese scammers and cybercriminals focusing on the U.S..

Shedrach Kongvong 2025-11-17

The U.S. government has set up a task force to go after Chinese cryptocurrency scam networks targeting Americans. The Scam Center Strike Force team will investigate and prosecute criminal groups involved in pig butchering or romance baiting scams.

In an announcement, the authorities said the team will trace and seize illicit funds stolen from American victims of different scam groups.

They will also partner with other countries and agencies to dislodge the operations of the criminal organizations which have international connections.

Asian Scammers’ Operations Around the World

The Chinese fraudsters behind scamming Americans and other nationalities operate internationally. Using social media and SMS, they win victims’ trust and eventually convince them to send cryptocurrencies.

According to Assistant Director Kyo Dolan of the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Secret Service has responded to approximately 3,000 victims regarding cryptocurrency schemes in the fiscal year 2025 alone.

Also commenting, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said:

“Scam centers are creating a generational wealth transfer from Main Street America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime. As the prosecuting office in the nation’s capital, my office has the authority to charge foreign defendants and seize foreign property.”

So far, the task force has successfully seized over $400 million in cryptocurrency and filed forfeiture proceedings for an additional $80 million in stolen funds.

U.S. Taking Action Against Chinese Scams

Chinese scammers and hackers have targeted the U.S. for many years, both on an individual and corporate level, hence the decisive action by the authorities.

They hacked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s computers and even OpenAI has blocked several ChatGPT accounts belonging to Chinese and North Korean hackers engaging in different kinds of illicit activities.

The latest is Google suing one of the largest and most notorious phishing groups known as Smishing Triad, which is behind the famous “Lighthouse”, a phishing-as-a-service platform.