US sanctions Philippine-based firm accused of aiding crypto scams
MANILA, Philippines — The United States government has sanctioned a Philippines-based technology company for providing the digital infrastructure behind massive cryptocurrency investment scams that swindled more than $200 million from US victims.
Funnull Technology Inc., a firm that operated from the Philippines, provides infrastructure for "hundreds of thousands" of websites used in virtual currency investment scams or so-called "pig butchering" scams, according to the US Department of the Treasury in a press release on Thursday, May 29.
The company's administrator, a Chinese national identified as Liu Lizhi, was also hit with sanctions.
"Today's action underscores our focus on disrupting the criminal enterprises, like Funnull, that enable these cyber scams and deprive Americans of their hard-earned savings," Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said in the press release.
Funnull has been linked to the majority of virtual currency investment scam websites reported to the FBI, with individual victims losing an average of $150,000 each, according to the US Department of Treasury.
The company's operation involved purchasing IP addresses in bulk from major cloud service providers worldwide, then selling them to cybercriminals to host fake investment platforms.
"These services not only make it easier for cybercriminals to impersonate trusted brands when creating scam websites, but also allow them to quickly change to different domain names and IP addresses when legitimate providers attempt to take the websites down," the US Department of Treasury said.
Last year, the company reportedly purchased legitimate web developer code repositories and "maliciously altered" them to redirect unsuspecting visitors to gambling sites and scam platforms.
Some of these platforms are connected to "Chinese criminal money laundering operations," the press release read.
The US Department of Treasury worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the action. It has since released a cybersecurity advisory with technical details about Funnull's infrastructure to help private companies identify and take down associated websites
The sanctions freeze any US-based assets belonging to Funnull and Liu while prohibiting American individuals and companies from doing business with them. Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties.
The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network warned about these "pig butchering" scams in an alert in September 2023.
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