Americans Lose $10 Billion a Year to Scam Compounds. The US and UK Just Teamed Up

US and UK law enforcement signed a first-of-its-kind agreement on Thursday to dismantle the overseas crypto and cyber scam compounds that strip roughly $10 billion from Americans every year.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) binds the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, and the National Crime Agency, Britain’s lead body against serious organized crime.

US and UK Launch Joint Offensive Against Scam Compounds

Under the memorandum of understanding, the three agencies will run parallel investigations into shared targets. They will also trade intelligence on organized crime syndicates and settle which country prosecutes each case.

US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro signed alongside Crown Prosecutor Stephen Parkinson and National Crime Agency Director General Graeme Biggar. The ceremony took place at the residence of Britain’s ambassador to the US.

Pirro framed the arrangement as a wartime alliance against transnational crime.

“Together we will disable the Chinese TOC networks that are operating these scam compounds and depriving our citizens of their hard-earned funds, all while using human-trafficked labor to increase their profit,” he said.

Both sides have already flagged overlapping cases. Meanwhile, the National Crime Agency will host an in-person disruption operation with private industry partners in London in early October.

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Fraud Losses Climb as Enforcement Widens

The MOU extends a campaign that began in November 2025, when Pirro launched the Scam Center Strike Force. BeInCrypto reported that in April, the US Attorney’s Office, along with its partners, restrained more than $700 million in crypto tied to scam compounds. Authorities seized a further $25 million in July tied to global fraud networks.

Private firms have joined the effort. Coinbase froze over $3 million linked to Asian fraud rings during a DOJ Disruption Week in June.

The numbers behind the crackdown keep rising. Reported losses from cyber-enabled investment fraud (CIF) hit $8.65 billion in 2025, an 89% jump from $4.57 billion in 2023.

Cyber-enabled fraud drove almost 85% of all losses logged by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) last year. However, the agency notes most victims never file a report, so actual losses run higher.

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