US 'leading the fight' against Southeast Asian scam compounds

A senior FBI official said on Tuesday that the United States was "committed to leading the fight" against multi-billion dollar Southeast Asian fraud factories targeting Americans.



Scott Schelble, Deputy Assistant Director off the FBI's International Operations Division, was speaking at a press briefing after travelling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where he visited several scam centres.



"It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of these operations until you see them yourself," he said, referring to "industrial-scale" Chinese-led fraud factories that have proliferated across the region.



"Criminals should not believe that borders will protect them if they target Americans," he said. "We know where you are and we are coming for you."



Chinese organised crime syndicates are targeting American with scams "every day" through "sophisticated, well-resource criminal enterprises that exploit borders, technology, and vulnerable people to generate enormous profits..