Coinbase Freezes $3M in Crypto Linked to Asian Scam Rings

Coinbase froze more than $3 million in cryptocurrency linked to Southeast Asian fraud rings during the U.S. Department of Justice’s Disruption Week, a coordinated effort to dismantle cyber-enabled investment scams that targeted U.S. residents.

The DOJ announced results of the operation on June 3. The Scam Center Strike Force led the effort. Agents from the FBI and the Secret Service shared target intelligence with major technology firms including Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and SpaceX, and with analytics firm TRM Labs. Police forces from Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand also participated.

Public and private participants disrupted more than 1.4 million social media and email accounts tied to the networks. Thai authorities arrested seven people and opened new criminal cases. The DOJ described the actions as aiming to cut access to accounts, online infrastructure and financial flows used to run the schemes and launder stolen funds.

In a DOJ summary, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro described the fraud as “devastating,” writing that it wipes out life savings and preys on some of the most vulnerable citizens.

Coinbase wrote that it froze over $3 million in crypto assets connected to the networks and emphasized that blockchain ledgers can help investigators trace funds. In a corporate statement, Coinbase said public ledgers provide a “permanent, traceable record” that can assist law enforcement in following financial flows.

The announcement follows an April action by the same Strike Force. Authorities charged two Chinese nationals accused of running a crypto fraud operation based in Myanmar and attempting to reestablish it in Cambodia. Prosecutors restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency suspected of being tied to scam laundering.

The DOJ described Disruption Week as an example of cooperation between government agencies and private firms to dismantle global fraud networks that used social media, email and crypto channels to recruit victims and move stolen funds.