US Sanctions Philippine Internet Company for Facilitating 'Pig Butchering' Scams

By Netvora Tech News

The US government has sanctioned a Philippine internet company for allegedly facilitating massive "pig butchering" scams. Pig butchering is a combination of dating and investment fraud, where scammers build trust with victims and then convince them to invest large sums of money. The company, Funnell, is accused of providing infrastructure to scammers, including IP addresses, hosting services, and other internet infrastructure. According to the FBI, Funnell acquires these services from legitimate providers in the United States and sells them to cybercriminals, who use them to facilitate fraudulent activities. The company is also accused of providing templates that allow scammers to quickly set up scam websites. The FBI claims that Funnell has facilitated scams that have caused over $200 million in damages.

FBI Warns of Funnell's Infrastructure

The FBI has warned that internet service providers, DNS providers, browser developers, and safe browsing platforms should be aware of Funnell's infrastructure and raise the risk score for domains hosted on this infrastructure. The agency also recommends that providers display a risk warning to end-users if they have the capability to do so.

Educating End-Users

The FBI is also urging end-users to be aware that the presence of HTTPS or a green lock icon does not necessarily mean a website is trustworthy. The agency is advising users to be cautious and verify the authenticity of websites before providing sensitive information.

Sanctions Implemented

As part of the sanctions, Funnell's assets in the United States have been frozen, and American citizens, businesses, and organizations are prohibited from conducting business with the Philippine company.

Funnell is accused of facilitating massive "pig butchering" scams
The company provides infrastructure to scammers, including IP addresses and hosting services
Funnell's infrastructure is used to facilitate fraudulent activities
The FBI warns that internet service providers should be aware of Funnell's infrastructure
Educating end-users is crucial to preventing these types of scams