FinCEN ties $12.7 billion in crypto scam flows to overseas fraud rings

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), division of the U.S. Treasury, has identified about $12.7 billion in financial activity reported by U.S. institutions linked to suspected investment scams involving digital assets. FinCEN says that these scams are typically operated by transnational organized crime groups based in Southeast Asia.

As released on FinCEN’s Financial Trend Analysis and an accompanying alert to financial institutions on September 3, 2026, this discovery increases the burden on exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and regulators as perpetrated fraudulent funds are still transferred through the same channels as the funds of legal customers.

FinCEN has advised banks and cryptocurrency companies to be vigilant about the signs of scam operations and to provide information on scams on a voluntary basis according to Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act. However, it is quite difficult to tighten cross-border controls without hindering legitimate cryptocurrency activity.

Two years of filings, $12.7 billion flagged

The figure of $12.7 billion relates to 33,904 reports submitted under the Bank Secrecy Act in the period between September 8, 2023 and December 31, 2025. The majority of these reports were made by money services businesses that were largely dependent on the digital assets industry and depository institutions accounted for as much as 96% of all reports.

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