- The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology, a Philippines-based tech firm, for operating large-scale crypto scams.
- Authorities linked Funnull Technology to more than 332,000 scam websites, causing over $200 million in losses to U.S. victims.
- The sanctions, assisted by the FBI, target one company administrator and two crypto wallet addresses (ETH and TRX).
- Scammers used nearly identical domain names to impersonate trusted brands and avoid detection.
- The operation is part of a broader trend of crypto scam networks across Southeast Asia, with continued law enforcement actions in the region.
Funnull Technology, a computer firm based in the Philippines, faced U.S. Treasury sanctions this week for creating and supporting hundreds of thousands of fraudulent cryptocurrency websites that resulted in more than $200 million in losses to U.S. victims.
In partnership with the FBI, officials cited Funnull Technology’s major role in running online scams, noting that the company’s administrator Liu Lizhi and two cryptocurrency addresses—one using Ethereum and another using Tron—are now subject to asset freezes and transaction bans. The move responds to a surge in crypto schemes using tactics like “pig butchering,” a scam where individuals build relationships with victims over time to persuade them to invest in fake crypto platforms.
According to statements from the Treasury, Funnull Technology allegedly collected IP addresses in bulk from cloud service companies and sold them to cybercriminals. These addresses allowed scammers to set up nearly identical domains, helping them impersonate trusted financial institutions and repeatedly launch scams under new digital identities. The department added that this method enables cybercriminals to “quickly change to different domain names and IP addresses when legitimate providers attempt to take the websites down.”
The FBI has connected 548 “Funnull Canonical Names” to over 332,000 unique web domains since January. Average reported losses per victim exceed $150,000, though officials believe total losses could be significantly higher. The crackdown follows similar law enforcement efforts in Southeast Asia, where criminal groups have operated scam compounds guarded by armed groups and staffed by forced labor.
Elsewhere in the region, Vietnamese police last week arrested a key suspect linked to another cryptocurrency scam responsible for an estimated $300 million in victim losses. U.S. authorities caution investors to remain vigilant as scam operations continue to evolve, especially in areas with growing digital infrastructure and limited regulatory oversight.
For additional information, see the U.S. Treasury’s official release here and the FBI’s public notice here.
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