Pig butchering scams are now among the largest drivers of scam-related reporting in the US financial system, and regulators want institutions to act.
According to Alessa, on 3 September 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Financial Trend Analysis alongside an alert calling on financial institutions to watch closely for digital asset investment fraud orchestrated by overseas scam centres. The analysis linked almost $13bn in financial activity to these schemes.
Also referred to by FinCEN as romance baiting or cryptocurrency confidence schemes, pig butchering scams rely on carefully cultivated trust. Fraudsters create fake identities, presenting themselves as romantic interests, new friends or professional contacts, before using social engineering to steer victims towards bogus digital asset investments.
Most operations are run by transnational criminal organisations from industrial-scale compounds in Southeast Asia, often supported by convincing websites and mobile apps that mimic genuine investment platforms. Treasury official Gene Lange described the schemes as one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans.
The findings draw on 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports filed between 8 September 2023 and 31 December 2025, covering roughly $12.7bn in suspicious activity. Victims of all ages were identified across all 50 states and several US territories, underlining that the problem is already present within customer bases throughout the sector. FinCEN positioned the release under Executive Order 14390, “Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens.”
FinCEN outlines a sophisticated criminal supply chain behind the fraud. Scam operators use so-called guarantee marketplaces to buy illicit services including account creation, phishing and money laundering.
Professional launderers then set up accounts and shell companies, channelling proceeds into the formal financial system via money mule networks and stablecoin transfers to offshore digital asset exchanges. Because mule and shell accounts can be held at any institution, risk sits on both the sending and receiving sides of a payment.
Alongside the red flags listed in the alert, compliance teams can apply broader monitoring approaches.
These include spotting unusual and escalating transfers to new payees or exchanges, identifying accounts that rapidly receive and forward funds, tracking outbound transfers to offshore exchanges after irregular deposits, and ensuring front-line staff escalate conversations where customers struggle to explain an online relationship or investment.
FinCEN stresses that detailed suspicious activity reports, capturing the relationship, payment flow and destination of funds, are vital for law enforcement and victim recovery. It also strongly encourages voluntary information sharing under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, which offers safe harbour protection.
Through its Rapid Response Program, FinCEN works with foreign financial intelligence units to halt and repatriate fraudulent transactions. Victims are urged to contact their institution immediately and report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or a US Secret Service field office.
With reporting at this scale, no institution can treat scam activity as an edge case. Combining transaction monitoring, customer risk scoring, timely SARs and information sharing offers the best chance of disrupting the flow of funds to scam networks.
Read the full Alessa post here.
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