Jeanine Pirro Warns Overseas 'Scam Centers' Steal an Estimated $12 Billion From Americans

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, told Newsmax that organized crime networks operating overseas are stealing an estimated $12 billion a year from Americans through schemes that frequently involve cryptocurrency, encrypted messaging and increasingly, artificial intelligence.

Speaking on The Record With Greta Van Susteren, Pirro said the $12 billion figure is likely conservative because many victims are too embarrassed to report the crimes. The Justice Department previously estimated annual U.S. losses from similar scams at about $10 billion.

How the Scams Work

Pirro described a common pattern: contact often begins with a call or text that appears to be a wrong-number message and evolves into a rapport-building conversation. Scammers cultivate trust through casual exchanges — sometimes arranging fake meetups or social conversations — then move the conversation to encrypted apps such as WhatsApp.

"They'll say, 'Meet you tonight for dinner,' or, 'Meet you at the gym,' ... And Americans are so polite. They'll develop a conversation and a friendship," Pirro said.

Victims are frequently coaxed to invest small sums at first, then persuaded to transfer larger amounts, often into cryptocurrency accounts. According to Pirro, the result can be that victims lose life savings.

Operations, Recruitment and Abuse Allegations

Pirro said many of the schemes are run from large compounds in parts of Southeast Asia, naming Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Thailand. She described recruitment via social-media job postings and alleged patterns in which recruits are taken from airports, have their passports confiscated and are confined inside so-called "scam factories." She said some workers are beaten or tortured if they fail to meet targets.

She characterized these compounds as human-trafficking operations. When asked about reports of organ harvesting, Pirro acknowledged the practice occurs globally but did not offer evidence directly linking organ harvesting to the scam centers she described.

Technology, Marketplaces and Organized Support

Pirro warned that scammers are using artificial intelligence to communicate with targets and relying on online marketplaces — particularly on apps like Telegram — where vendors sell services to scam-center operators. Advertised services reportedly include building fake websites, laundering money and recruiting workers.

U.S. Government Response

In November, Pirro launched the Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force to target Chinese organized-crime syndicates operating scam centers primarily in Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, the strike force and the U.S. Treasury coordinated action against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language illicit marketplace on Telegram linked to custom scam websites, money-laundering services and recruitment of trafficking victims.

Pirro urged victims not to be ashamed and to report fraud: "So you should never be embarrassed," she said, noting that roughly half of victims do not report scams. Federal officials say greater reporting and international cooperation are key to disrupting the networks behind these operations.

Note: Some of the claims Pirro discussed — including connections to organ harvesting — were reported as allegations during the interview and were not accompanied by publicly available evidence directly tying those practices to the specific scam compounds she described.