The United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology Inc., a company based in the Philippines, and its administrator, Chinese national Liu Lizhi.
The reason for the santion is due to their direct involvement in facilitating large-scale cryptocurrency fraud operations known as “pig butchering” scams.
The move, announced by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), blocks all assets and property of Funnull in the U.S. and prohibits American entities from conducting any business with the firm.
Liu was identified as a key operator managing employee performance, assigning scam domains, and helping coordinate phishing, fraudulent investment platforms.
Massive Crypto Fraud Infrastructure Tied to Over 332,000 Domains
The FBI has issued a parallel alert reinforcing the Treasury’s findings, revealing that since January 2025, it has identified 548 unique Canonical Name (CNAME) records linked to Funnull, which have been associated with over 332,000 domains involved in crypto-related fraud.
The agency accused Funnull of sourcing IP addresses and digital infrastructure from legitimate U.S. providers and reselling these resources to cybercriminal groups.
These groups then hosted scam websites mimicking legitimate investment platforms.
Victims, often unaware of the fraud, were lured through social engineering techniques into investing large sums.
The losses in the U.S. alone surpassed $200 million and average losses per victim exceeded $150,000.
Also Read: Crypto Fraud Hits Record $12.4 Billion In 2024 As Pig Butchering Scams Surge, Report
The ‘Pig Butchering’ Tactic: From Romance Baiting to Financial Devastation
The term “pig butchering” refers to a manipulation method where scammers gain victims’ trust through fake romantic or personal connections (the “fattening” phase) before slowly draining them of funds via fraudulent investment schemes (the “slaughter”).
Though Interpol prefers the less stigmatizing term “romance baiting,” the underlying scam is rapidly evolving, particularly across Asia.
Increasingly, scammers are using generative AI to automate initial conversations, making scams more scalable and harder to detect.
Once a victim is emotionally engaged, a human “butcher” takes over to maximize the financial damage.
These operations are becoming more sophisticated and global in nature, exploiting digital tools and jurisdictional gaps.
Authorities Struggle to Contain a Sprawling Southeast Asian Scam Network
Despite recent enforcement actions, global authorities admit that halting these scams remains a major challenge.
Funnull’s previous involvement in the 2024 Polyfill scandal, where its newly acquired JavaScript service was found redirecting users to scam and gambling websites, shows a pattern of behavior.
As the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently noted, cyber fraud has become deeply rooted in Southeast Asia, fueled by transnational criminal networks.
Benedikt Hofmann of the UNODC described the situation as a “cancer” that simply relocates when addressed in one jurisdiction.
These syndicates now form a resilient and adaptive ecosystem, undermining government systems and digital safety worldwide.
Also Read: India Joins Hands With Google and Facebook To Cracks Down Pig Butchering Scams