Scam Center Strike Force

Updates on Elder Fraud

While my earlier blog posts were focused on instructional design, I want to repurpose this blog for updates on elder fraud and related scams. There is so much going on in this area that even a newsletter seemed like it would be inefficient. Please share this blog with others who you believe would be interested. You can see my Recognizing and Responding to Elder Fraud training module here. It is free and I encourage you to share it with others.

In one of my elder fraud seminars earlier this year, someone asked me why the U.S. government is not doing more to fight scams. In fact, they are. At that time, Operation Riptide was in progress. You can learn more about the results of Operation Riptide here.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a major initiative, the Scam Center Strike Force, to combat the explosion of Southeast Asian scam compounds that are trafficking workers, stealing billions in cryptocurrency, and targeting Americans with investment fraud, romance scams, and other frauds. See the Department of Justice page on the Scam Center Strike force here.

Formed in 2025, the Strike Force brings together the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., DOJ Criminal Division, FBI, Secret Service, IRS‑CI, Postal Inspection Service, DEA, and multiple U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide. Their mission is simple: identify, disrupt, and dismantle the criminal networks running these scam centers, and recover stolen funds for victims. Jeanine Pirro provided a presentation on the Scam Center Strike Force for Fox News. You can see that video here. Note: The presentation doesn't start until about 11 minutes and 30 seconds into the video.

Also be sure to see the Reuters article on scam camps in our Recognizing and Respond to Elder Fraud training module. From the Menu, click Learning and Resources, then click the Special Topics button, click the Articles tab on the Special Topics page, and click Human Trafficking Scam Camps. This article is best viewed on a computer or tablet.