US sanctions Philippines digital infrastructure provider linked to virtual currency scams
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury is placing under sanctions a Philippines-based company accused of providing internet infrastructure to a swathe of virtual currency investment scams, better known as "pig butchering."
In a statement, opens new tab issued on Thursday, Treasury officials said they were taking action against Funnull Technology Inc., which they accused of buying internet protocol addresses in bulk from other service providers and reselling them to cybercriminals. An alleged administrator of Funnull, Chinese citizen Liu Lizhi, was also placed under sanctions.
Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for Liu, who the Treasury described as being 40 years old and linked to addresses in Shanghai and Ganzhou. A message seeking comment from Funnull was not immediately returned. Reuters' attempt to locate Funnull in the Philippines' corporate registry was unsuccessful.
Virtual currency investment scams - which typically work by convincing people to put their money into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes - have become a billion-dollar industry, run by organized crime and fueled by human trafficking.
The scams often rely on bogus websites to swindle their victims, and earlier this year researchers from cybersecurity firm Silent Push tied Funnull to a network of such sites, opens new tab, along with thousands of other devoted to suspected gambling or money laundering.
Pig butchering scams, which originated in China, now target people worldwide. Earlier this year, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said revenues from the scams were at a record high, likely boosted by the use of generative algorithms to help scammers better tailor their pitches and talk to more people at a time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Senate Republicans cannot force US Postal Service to scrap EVs, parliamentarian says
WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - Senate Republicans cannot force the U.S. Postal Service to scrap thousands of electric vehicles and charging equipment in a massive tax and budget bill, the Senate parliamentarian said late on Sunday. The U.S. Postal Service currently has 7,200 electric vehicles, made up of Ford e-Transit (F.N), opens new tab vehicles and specially built Next Generation Delivery Vehicles built by Oshkosh Defense (OSK.N), opens new tab. USPS warned on June 13 that scrapping the electric vehicles would cost it $1.5 billion, including $1 billion to replace its current fleet of EVs and $500 million in EV infrastructure rendered useless.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
China's Hellobike sets up new robotaxi firm with Ant Group, CATL
BEIJING, June 23 (Reuters) - China's bike-sharing platform Hellobike announced on Monday the setup of a new robotaxi firm jointly with Ant Group and CATL ( opens new tab. The three parties have invested over 3 billion yuan ($417.40 million) in total in the new firm as an initial investment, Hellobike said in a statement. The new firm, registered in Shanghai on Monday, will focus on level 4 autonomous driving R&D, safe applications and commercialisation. ($1 = 7.1874 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Xiaomi to unveil prices for new YU7 SUV at June 26 launch
SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun said on Monday that the firm plans to hold an official launch event for its new YU7 electric sports utility vehicle on Thursday, where it is expected to announce pricing and start taking orders. Lei made the announcement on his Weibo account. Xiaomi earlier announced specifications for its second EV model in May.
