US targets Myanmar scam centres with new cyber strike force

The Irrawaddy

The United States has launched a multi-agency strike force to dismantle cyber scam networks across Southeast Asia, with a sharp focus on Myanmar’s role in fuelling online fraud and human trafficking. The move comes amid growing alarm over billions of dollars lost to romance scams, fake investments, and crypto frauds operated from remote compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.

Announced by the Treasury Department on 13 November, the Scam Center Strike Force brings together agents from the Justice Department, FBI, Secret Service, and State Department. Their mission: to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute the region’s most egregious scam operations — many of which are tied to armed groups and transnational crime syndicates.

Myanmar is at the heart of the crackdown. US officials confirmed operations against two scam centres in the country, including Tai Chang, a compound in Karen State controlled by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA). The DKBA, now sanctioned alongside three of its senior leaders, is accused of securing scam compounds and abusing trafficked workers forced into online fraud.

“Criminal networks operating out of Burma are stealing billions from hardworking Americans,” said senior Treasury official John Hurley. “These same networks traffic human beings and help fuel Burma’s brutal civil war.”

The US has also sanctioned Thai companies allegedly acting as intermediaries between Chinese organised crime and Myanmar’s armed groups. Trans Asia International Holding Group and Troth Star Company are accused of helping develop scam compounds like KK Park and Huanya, notorious hubs for cyber fraud and forced labour.

The Justice Department says it has already seized over $400 million in cryptocurrency linked to these scams, with further forfeiture proceedings underway. FBI agents have been deployed to Bangkok to assist Thai police, while US officials are working with tech companies to shut down scam-linked social media accounts and internet access.

The crackdown highlights the complex ecosystem behind Southeast Asia’s scam economy — one that blends digital fraud, human trafficking, and armed conflict. In Myanmar, scam revenue is reportedly used to fund militia operations, with victims subjected to beatings, electric shocks, and other abuse.

As the civil war rages on, the US has vowed to use every tool available to protect its citizens and disrupt the criminal networks exploiting Myanmar’s instability.

-2025-11-14