US ‘strike force’ to combat scam centres in South-East Asia


People, suspected of being involved in online scams, gathering during a raid on a scam centre in Phnom Penh in October. -AFP

WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department announced the creation of a new "Scam Center Strike Force” to combat a surge in cryptocurrency‑investment fraud by transnational criminal organizations operating out of South-East Asia.

The interagency task force is designed to investigate, disrupt and prosecute the most egregious schemes, estimated to be defrauding Americans of nearly US$10 billion annually, it said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 12).

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