The FBI is intensifying a worldwide crackdown on industrial-scale scam compounds that have stolen billions of dollars from Americans, with older people increasingly among the most financially devastated victims.

FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau’s “Operation Blackout” is targeting large criminal networks operating scam centers across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and increasingly Africa. Some of these compounds are so large that Patel described them as functioning like entire towns or cities, with buildings filled with workers carrying out online fraud around the clock.

Many workers inside the compounds are themselves victims of human trafficking. Investigators say people are often recruited with promises of legitimate jobs, transported across borders and then forced to participate in cryptocurrency, romance and investment scams under threats or physical abuse.

The fraud usually begins through social media, text messages, dating platforms or encrypted messaging apps. Scammers spend weeks or months building trust before convincing victims to transfer money into fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. Victims may initially see fabricated profits on their accounts, but when they attempt to withdraw their money, they are asked for additional taxes or fees and eventually discover that their savings are gone.

The scale of the financial damage has become enormous. FBI data released in 2026 showed that Americans reported nearly $21 billion in internet-crime losses during 2025, including more than $17.7 billion from cyber-enabled fraud. Americans over age 60 alone reported about $7.7 billion in losses, a 37 percent increase from the previous year. Cryptocurrency-related complaints accounted for more than $11 billion in reported losses.

The Justice Department has launched its own Scam Center Strike Force to attack the infrastructure supporting these operations. In September, U.S. authorities said the task force helped Madagascar dismantle 13 scam centers linked to Chinese organized-crime groups, processing more than 3,200 electronic devices and opening investigations based on information gathered from nearly 400 arrests. Authorities also restrained about $52 million in cryptocurrency in a single day, bringing the Strike Force’s total restrained assets to approximately $938 million.

Officials say the networks are increasingly moving beyond their traditional bases in Southeast Asia. Scam compounds have now been identified in parts of the Middle East, Africa and South America, creating a rapidly shifting international law-enforcement challenge.

The FBI is also trying to stop victims before they lose everything. Through Operation Level Up, agents identify people who appear to be actively involved in fraudulent cryptocurrency investments and contact them directly. As of the end of 2025, more than 8,100 victims had been warned, with 77 percent unaware they were being scammed. The FBI estimated that those interventions prevented more than $511 million in additional losses. Some victims had been preparing to sell homes, empty retirement accounts or borrow large amounts of money before agents intervened.

U.S. authorities are now strengthening international cooperation as well. In September, the United States and United Kingdom announced a joint alliance specifically aimed at dismantling overseas scam centers. The Justice Department estimates these cryptocurrency and cyber-enabled investment schemes are costing Americans roughly $10 billion a year.

The FBI warns that unsolicited investment advice, promises of unusually high returns, pressure to move conversations to encrypted messaging apps, demands for cryptocurrency payments and requests for additional “taxes” before withdrawals are major warning signs.

Authorities urge anyone who suspects they are being scammed to stop sending money immediately and report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. They also warn victims against paying companies that promise to recover stolen cryptocurrency, because those offers can themselves be another layer of fraud.

What once appeared to be isolated online scams has evolved into a multibillion-dollar transnational criminal industry—combining cybercrime, human trafficking, cryptocurrency laundering and organized crime on a global scale.