U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday announced a new global visa restriction policy aimed at individuals responsible for or complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled crimes.
Immediate family members of those involved may also face the restrictions, Rubio said in a statement.
“Today, I am announcing a new global visa restriction policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” he said.
“This policy targets individuals responsible for, or complicit in, cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, such as those involved in cyberscams, and sextortion.”
The policy forms part of broader efforts to dismantle overseas criminal networks that have defrauded Americans of large sums of funds.
Rubio stressed the administration is using sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international cooperation.
“The Trump Administration is deploying every tool at our disposal—sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international law enforcement cooperation—to dismantle criminal scam networks and impose costs on those who enable them,” he said.
“By restricting visa issuance to those who are responsible for or complicit in these criminal enterprises, we are sending a clear message: The United States will go after those who prey on our citizens.”
Cybercrime Rules Tighten
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on targeting cybercrime, fraud, and scams.
The order directed the attorney general to prioritize prosecutions of cyber-enabled fraud, called for reviews of tools against transnational criminal organizations, and directed the secretary of state to press foreign governments for enforcement action.
Countries tolerating such schemes could face sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign aid limits, and expulsion of complicit foreign officials, according to the order and a related White House fact sheet.
“Cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes are draining American families of their life savings, stealing the benefits of years of work, and destroying the lives of our youth,” Trump said in the order.
American consumers reported more than $12.5 billion in losses from cyber-enabled fraud in 2024, with seniors hit hardest on average.
Rubio’s statement on Thursday explicitly referenced the executive order.
“As President Trump made clear in E.O. 14390 on Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens, his administration is taking action to counter an unprecedented threat from online investment scams,” Rubio said.
“Often orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organizations, scammers have defrauded U.S. citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 alone while fueling corruption, money laundering, and human trafficking.
“American children also have been specifically targeted by offenders operating overseas for sextortion scams, devastating families and futures.”
Global Scam Threat
Chinese transnational criminal organizations have long run “pig butchering” scams, in which operators build fake online relationships before luring victims into fraudulent investments.
A related variant known as “foreigner butchering” specifically targets non-Chinese victims using translation tools and social media.
In September 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on 19 individuals and entities tied to scam centers in Burma and Cambodia.
Rubio said at the time: “In 2024, Americans lost at least $10 billion to scam operations in Southeast Asia, according to a U.S. government estimate.”
He added that the sanctions aimed to disrupt networks perpetuating “industrial-scale fraud, forced labor, physical and sexual abuse, and theft of Americans’ hard-earned savings.”
In June, the Treasury Department sanctioned 35 individuals and entities linked to the Prince Group network, accused of running scam compounds in Cambodia that used trafficked labor for cryptocurrency fraud.
The Department of Justice had earlier indicted the group’s chairman and moved to seize billions in bitcoin.
More than $7.2 billion in losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud alone were reported to the FBI in 2025.
These operations have fueled money laundering, human trafficking, and corruption while adapting to pressure by shifting targets and locations in Southeast Asia.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
