Crypto: US and UK join forces against scam centers

The United States and the United Kingdom have created an unprecedented alliance against crypto-related scam centers. Reported US losses from cyber investment fraud alone reached $8.65 billion in 2025, nearly twice the amount recorded in 2023. Behind fake investments and fraudulent platforms, authorities are now targeting organized criminal networks operating notably from Southeast Asia.

Crypto: Washington and London strike together

The agreement brings together the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, and the UK’s National Crime Agency. The offensive follows the sharp rise in crypto scams already observed in 2025.

A memorandum of understanding signed on September 3 provides for parallel investigations, information sharing on criminal organizations, and coordination to determine which country will prosecute certain suspects.

The two sides have already identified several joint cases.

An initial disruption operation is due to be organized in London in early October, with private companies. The objective is therefore no longer limited to arresting a few fraudsters. Investigators want to target simultaneously the platforms, financial infrastructure and human networks behind these operations.

The US Department of Justice describes the agreement as the first of its kind specifically dedicated to the international dismantling of scam centers.

$8.65 billion lost

The figures explain this acceleration.

According to the US Department of Justice, reported losses linked to cyber investment fraud rose from $4.57 billion in 2023 to $8.65 billion in 2025, an increase of 89%.

And those figures cover only reported losses.

These centers often use the so-called pig butchering scam. The fraudster patiently builds a relationship with the victim, sometimes over several weeks, then directs them to a fake crypto investment platform. The initial gains displayed are fictitious. When the victim increases their deposits, the money disappears.

This industrialization is connected to the international criminal networks recently targeted by INTERPOL in 22 countries.

Scam centers go further, however: some operations also rely on human-trafficking victims who are forced to scam foreigners every day.

Scam centers are becoming an industry

Washington had already created its Scam Center Strike Force in November 2025, primarily to target Chinese criminal networks operating centers in Southeast Asia.

The FBI, Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations are among the agencies taking part in the operations.

Last April, another international operation involving the United States, Dubai and China led to 276 arrests and the closure of at least nine crypto scam centers.

Technology obviously facilitates transfers. It can also help track them: when a payment moves through a public blockchain, investigators can follow the funds to an exchange or service that may be able to freeze them. They must act quickly and cooperate across jurisdictions.

That is precisely what Washington and London are now seeking to do.

Cases such as the 431,380 USDT lost in a gold scam in Kenya also serve as a reminder that crypto is often not the source of the trap. It becomes the financial rail used once the victim has been convinced.

Scam centers have already reached an industrial scale. With this new alliance, authorities are beginning to respond in kind.