The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published an analysis and an alert to financial institutions to be vigilant to digital asset investment scams and detailed the massive scope. Digital asset investment scams fall into a few categories of fraud operations such as “pig butchering,” “romance baiting,” or “cryptocurrency confidence schemes.” The fraudsters use fake personas and social engineering tactics to manipulate victims into transferring funds to fraudulent digital asset investments.
FinCEN analyzed 33,904 Suspicious Activity Reports involving suspected digital asset investment scams filed between 8 September 2023 and 31 December 2025. These identified $12.7 billion in financial activity tied to these suspected digital asset investment scams.
Sources:
- FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers
- FinCEN Alert on Money Laundering Activity Associated with Digital Asset Investment Scam Centers
- Financial Trend Analysis: Digital Asset Investment Scams: 2023-2025 Threat Pattern & Trend Information