The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on 19 individuals and entities for their alleged roles in an extensive network of scam centers in Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia.
“Criminal actors across Southeast Asia have increasingly exploited the vulnerabilities of Americans online. In 2024, Americans lost at least $10 billion to scam operations in Southeast Asia, according to a U.S. government estimate,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sept. 8 statement.
That figure marked a 66 percent increase from 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement announcing details of the sanctions.
“These sanctions protect Americans from the pervasive threat of online scam operations by disrupting the ability of criminal networks to perpetuate industrial-scale fraud, forced labor, physical and sexual abuse, and theft of Americans’ hard-earned savings,” Rubio added….