Key Takeaways
- U.S. DOJ says 1.4 million SNS and email accounts blocked, 7 fraudsters arrested in Thailand
- 2025 investment fraud has resulted in more than $7.2 billion, a 24% increase year-on-year
Government-Company Partnership Initiatives
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on June 3 the results of collaboration efforts between government agencies and private companies in preventing cryptocurrency fraud.
Companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, SpaceX, and Coinbase have joined the initiative. According to data shared by the government, the U.S. DOJ said that private companies on their own initiative froze cryptocurrency worth over $3.8 million (about 600 million yen).
This is the first time that such a partnership between government agencies and companies is conducting a crackdown on online crypto scams involving U.S. citizens. “Disruption Week” is the moniker given to the initiative.
Criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia that operate across borders are the targets of this crackdown. As part of the joint effort, companies voluntarily blocked millions of social media accounts, email addresses, and internet accounts that criminal syndicates have utilized for fraud. The DOJ has stated that the number of social media and email accounts blocked in this effort has exceeded 1.4 million.
The $3.8 million worth of crypto currency that has been frozen is reported to have been related to laundering assets from U.S. citizens. Other achievements include the seven arrested in Thailand for fraud.
Trend in Investment Scams
“Scam Center Strike Force,” an initiative for this project, is a special team established in November 2025 to counter Chinese criminal syndicates involved in fraud and primarily based in Southeast Asia.
The team will gather in Washington between May 18 and 21 for this initiative, which has participation from organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service, non-U.S. organizations, and private companies.
During those dates, companies were provided with data to identify the infrastructure used in crypto investment scams. The countries participating in Disruption Week are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
Investment fraud was the most frequently reported crime in 2023, according to the FBI. The bureau says investment fraud accounts for 83% of that involving cryptocurrency investment scams. The DOJ stated that the amount of losses from investment fraud victims has continued to increase year-on-year, reaching a 24% to over $7.2 billion (about 1.1 trillion yen) by 2025.
