In brief
- DOJ said the tickmilleas.com domain was operated from the Tai Chang compound and used to present fake trading balances to victims.
- Google, Apple and Meta removed linked apps and accounts after FBI alerts, targeting thousands of associated profiles.
- The action follows sanctions on Cambodia’s Huione Group, which has been forced to wind down operations after losing access to global banking channels.
U.S. agents seized a web domain tied to a major scam compound in Burma on Tuesday, marking the latest push to disrupt fraud networks that have spread across Southeast Asia.
The announcement came the same day a sanctioned financial conglomerate in Cambodia shut its Phnom Penh branches and froze withdrawals under mounting pressure from U.S. and U.K. regulators.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the domain tickmilleas.com was operated from the Tai Chang compound, also known as Casino Kosai, in Kyaukhat, and was set up to appear to be a legitimate trading platform.
Scammers allegedly showed victims fake balances and impressive-looking returns, and instructed them on how to deposit funds.
“Despite the seized domain being registered in early November 2025, the FBI already identified multiple victims who used the domain in the last month and were scammed out of their investments,” the DOJ said in a statement.
A “compound scam” refers to scam operations run from large buildings (or compounds) where trafficked or coerced workers carry out online fraud.
Officials linked the Burma compound to groups sanctioned last month for ties to Chinese organized crime and for helping build out scam centers in the region.
After the FBI alerted tech platforms, Google and Apple removed related mobile apps, and Meta took down more than 2,000 associated social media accounts.
“These CIF scams, such as the ones described by victims in the affidavit, typically begin through unsolicited outreach from strangers over dating applications, social media, messaging applications, and text messages,” the DOJ wrote.
“These strangers form close virtual relationships with their victim targets, convince them to make purported investments in or using cryptocurrency, and direct victims on how to purchase cryptocurrency and invest it using fraudulent domains and applications that appear legitimate,” it added.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Decrypt.
Last year, the DOJ said, more than 41,000 cases of cryptocurrency investment fraud were reported, with losses reaching $5.8 billion.
The domain seizure and sanctions against Huione Group this week showed U.S. agencies and their partners are widening their campaign to cut off crypto schemes in the region.
After regulators imposed sanctions on the Huione Group, a conglomerate linked to billions of dollars in illicit transactions, the organization was forced to close its doors following its removal from the global banking system in October.
According to the DOJ, prosecutors have already seized two other domains linked to the Tai Chang compound in recent weeks.
Last month, a report by the Interpol General Assembly said crypto fraud was at the core of the growing scam-compound industry.
“Often under the pretext of lucrative overseas jobs, victims are trafficked into compounds where they are forced to carry out illicit schemes such as voice phishing, romance scams, investment fraud, and cryptocurrency scams targeting individuals worldwide,” the organization said.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
