The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology Inc. and its administrator Liu Lizhi, linking them to the infrastructure responsible for major 'pig butchering' scams. These scams typically involve deceptive romantic contact, luring victims into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments, resulting in over $200 million in losses for US victims. The term 'romance baiting' is used by Interpol to describe this growing criminal trend, now incorporating AI tools to enhance scam effectiveness. The sanctions restrict any US business interactions with Funnull and block its US-based assets.
"Liu was involved in and possessed spreadsheets and other documents containing information about Funnull's employees, their performance, and their progress on tasks," the Feds said.
Pig butchering scams see scammers contact a victim and earn their trust through social engineering, typically involving romantic come-ons.
Interpol prefers the term "romance baiting" because of its less pejorative description of the victims.
The Treasury Department accused Funnull and its administrator of facilitating infrastructure used in scams that led to over $200 million in reported losses by US victims.
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