The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert urging financial institutions to be vigilant to digital asset investment scams perpetrated by overseas scam centers.
Details: The FinCEN alert:
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Urges financial institutions to be vigilant in detecting, identifying, and reporting suspicious activity connected to these scams.
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Says transnational criminal organizations—predominantly in Southeast Asia—operate scam centers to conduct the schemes.
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Details how a vast illicit ecosystem, which includes online marketplaces for cybercrime services and AI-supported software platforms, enables scam centers’ operations.
Scope: FinCEN also published an analysis showing that 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed between September 2023 and December 2025 identified nearly $13 billion tied to suspected digital asset scams.
Recent Action: FinCEN in June proposed amending its final rule that designated the Huione Group—which serves as a critical node for laundering proceeds of cyber heists and virtual currency investment scams—as a primary money laundering concern to include any successors.
ICBA Support: When the Treasury and Justice departments in October 2025 announced actions against criminal networks responsible for scams and money laundering, including the Huione Group, ICBA was the only voice of support.
More ICBA Advocacy:
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ICBA in May urged the OCC to strengthen its proposed GENIUS Act rules to protect against stablecoin risks.
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ICBA in 2025 expressed strong support for FinCEN’s proposed rule to designate the Huione Group as a primary money laundering concern but said more needs to be done to curtail the rapid growth of crypto scams.
ICBA Resources: Resources to help community bankers fight fraud and scams are available on ICBA’s website.