U.S. Treasury Sanctions Funnull Technology for Supporting $200 Million Pig Butchering Scams

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology Inc., a Philippines-based company involved in facilitating a massive pig butchering scam network, along with its administrator, Liu Lizhi. These scams defrauded U.S. victims of over $200 million by leveraging fraudulent investment platforms and sophisticated social engineering tactics.

The Mechanics of the Scam

The so-called "pig butchering" scams, also known as romance scams, involve cybercriminals building fake romantic relationships with their victims to gain trust. Once trust is established, victims are persuaded to invest in fraudulent platforms that are often related to cryptocurrency.

These scams have grown increasingly prevalent, with each victim reportedly losing an average of $150,000. The Treasury noted that many victims do not report these crimes due to embarrassment, meaning the true financial toll is likely to be much higher.

Funnull Technology played a pivotal role in designing and spreading these schemes by purchasing IP addresses in bulk from legitimate cloud service providers and reselling them to cybercriminals. These IP addresses were then used to host scam websites and applications. The company also employed domain generation algorithms to create thousands of similar but unique domain names, making it easier for scammers to impersonate trusted brands and evade detection.

Additionally, a survey conducted by Norton found that nearly half of respondents from 12 different countries have used a dating app or online dating service. This growing reliance on digital platforms has made users more susceptible to scams. According to the survey, one in four online daters reported being targeted by online dating scams, with romance scams and catfishing being the most common methods.

Government Response and Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken decisive action by freezing all U.S.-based assets of Funnull Technology and barring American companies from conducting business with the firm. Liu Lizhi, the company’s administrator, was also sanctioned for his direct involvement in managing the infrastructure used for these scams. According to the FBI, Funnull has been linked to over 33,000 domains associated with cryptocurrency investment fraud since January 2025.

Michael Faulkender, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, emphasized the importance of this action, stating, “Today’s action underscores our focus on disrupting the criminal enterprises, like Funnull, that enable these cyber scams and deprive Americans of their hard-earned savings. The United States is strongly committed to ensuring the continued growth of a legitimate, safe, and secure digital asset ecosystem”.

The FBI has also issued a cybersecurity advisory, highlighting the role of loneliness in making individuals more vulnerable to scams. Data from Norton's survey also shows that nearly a quarter of surveyed individuals admitted that loneliness led them to make risky decisions in online dating, a factor that scammers often exploit.

Broader Implications and Future Measures

The rise of pig butchering scams highlights the growing sophistication of cybercriminals and underscores the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies. The use of AI tools by scammers has further exacerbated the problem, enabling them to automate the early stages of scams before a human operator takes over. In 2024 alone, illicit revenues from such scams rose by nearly 40%, according to Chainalysis.

The Treasury’s actions against Funnull Technology are part of a broader effort to combat cybercrime and protect consumers. Federal agencies, including the FBI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, have issued multiple warnings about these scams and are collaborating to dismantle the networks behind them.

As part of its strategy, the U.S. government aims to foster a safer digital ecosystem by targeting the enablers of cybercrime. By sanctioning companies like Funnull, authorities hope to disrupt the infrastructure that sustains these schemes and deter future criminal activities.