Americans have become top targets of China-linked scam syndicates in Southeast Asia as Beijing’s selective crackdowns pushed criminals to target more U.S. victims, according to a congressional report published this month.
While China reported a 30 percent decrease in money lost to online scams in 2024, the United States’ loss increased by 42 percent, the U.S.—China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) said on July 18.
In one example, the report described how an 82-year-old Virginia man named Dennis befriended a “woman” named “Jessie” on Facebook. After months of chatting, “Jessie” disappeared, along with Dennis’s life savings, right after Dennis was persuaded to invest the money in cryptocurrency. Dennis took his own life….