China is cracking down on some scams but leaves those targeting Americans alone, leading to rising losses for US victims.
Beijing: “Governments around the world have been struggling to address the rise of industrial-scale scamming operations in countries like Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. These operations have cost victims billions of dollars and often use forced labor to carry out the scams.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said this week that scam complaints from Americans totaled more than $17.7 billion in losses last year. This is likely a major undercount because many victims don’t report their experiences. Some US officials say a major barrier to addressing the issue is the lack of collaboration with Chinese authorities.
“To its credit, China has cracked down on these operations, but it has done so selectively, largely turning a blind eye to scam centers victimizing foreigners,” said Reva Price at a Senate hearing last month. “Because of this, Chinese criminal groups are shifting toward targeting Americans.”
From 2023 to 2024, China reported a 30 percent decrease in the amount of money its citizens lost to scams. But the United States saw a more than 40 percent increase. In response to China’s enforcement, “the scam groups are increasingly pivoting to target people in other countries, especially Americans,” said Jason Tower from the US Institute of Peace.
The United Nations noted that scam centers are changing who they target and hire. They are moving from using mainly Chinese nationals to entrapping people from many different countries. This change seems to be both because scammers want to target more populations and because of China’s efforts to protect its own citizens.
“China is doing more to fight fraud—like much more—than any other country,” says Gary Warner, a digital scams researcher. “Because China cracked down on people scamming Chinese citizens, scammers are targeting international and American victims more.”
The Chinese government has spent years warning citizens about scams. There’s a common saying in China, “Chinese people don’t deceive Chinese people,” that signals trust. For digital scams, a new version has emerged: “Chinese don’t scam Chinese.”