US worried by rise in ‘foreigner butchering’ scams from China

WASHINGTON – The US is increasingly concerned over the emergence of “foreigner butchering” scams allegedly being run from China, adding another potential wrinkle to President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the coming months.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which monitors and advises Congress on national security issues in US-China ties, said recent crackdowns on scam centres in countries like Cambodia had seen Chinese criminals return home to start smaller-scale operations targeting only foreigners.

“We’ve seen the numbers grow,” vice-chairman Michael Kuiken said in an interview. Asked if the issue should be on the agenda for a Trump-Xi meeting, Mr Kuiken said: “Any time American citizens are being victimised by criminal institutions, my answer is yes.”

The term riffs off a common operation by scam centres in South-east Asia known as “pig butchering” – where people are coaxed out of money over a long period of time, often with the promise of romance or an investment opportunity. In “foreigner butchering”, gangs deliberately steer clear of targeting Chinese people, to avoid Beijing’s ire.

“I find it incredibly troubling, and I think it’s a trend line. It’s a trend line that may have more sort of exponential growth in it,” Mr Kuiken said, citing rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.

“There’s going to be a point at which these artificial intelligence capabilities actually don’t need the industrial-scale fraud factory in Cambodia or Thailand or Myanmar,” he added.

The commission in March released a report labelling China’s alleged involvement in scams a national security risk, with “alumni” of South-east Asian scam centres setting up shop in China. It cited US government estimates that Americans lost at least US$10 billion (S$12.8 billion) to scams based in South-east Asia in 2024, and said the issue should be a priority.

“There is a role for Congress here,” said Mr Kuiken, who was national security adviser to then Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer during the Biden administration.

“There’s a role for the executive branch here, and there’s a role for federal law enforcement to do more as well,” he added.

China’s Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

In recent scam crackdowns, some ringleaders received harsh punishments but “smaller fish” got comparatively short prison terms, the report said. Since being released, they have been running small-scale scam operations from apartments and office buildings in cities across China, often exclusively targeting foreign victims.

Alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi was detained and then extradited to China in January for his suspected role in building a scam network in Cambodia. The China-born tycoon and the Prince group of companies he founded deny involvement in criminal activity. China has previously warned Cambodia that scam centres are a strain on ties.

The commission said hard data on the number of “foreigner butchering” operations was hard to ascertain, but cases were clearly increasing.

“While there have been at least 40 legal cases involving foreigner butchering operations inside of China in recent years, these likely represent only a small fraction of the scale of the problem,” the report said.

“Foreigner butchering” also has a potential patriotic element. The report cited a Chinese lawyer working with people accused of such scams as saying many believe that “defrauding foreigners out of money is not illegal”. It also noted media reports on the arrest of four men who said they targeted only Japanese victims because “Chinese don’t scam Chinese”.

The arrest of Chen and the crackdowns in Cambodia may have a near-term impact on operations there, but more comprehensive and robust efforts are needed, according to Mr Kuiken. He described scam centres in Cambodia as ubiquitous.

Cambodia said in late February that its crackdowns had halved scam activity in the country since the start of 2026, and the aim is to bring all operations under control by April. The government in February also announced a draft law targeting online scams.

Cambodia does “not have the capacity to get after these incredibly sophisticated scam centres,” Mr Kuiken said. “Any time you have something that’s conducting an activity at scale, it is very hard to get after it.” Bloomberg