On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Philippines-based Funnull Technology Inc. and its administrator Liu Lizhi, for allegedly facilitating cyber scams that targeted Americans. According to OFAC, cyber scams directly facilitated by Funnell resulted in more than $200 million in losses reported by victims in the United States – figures that are likely underestimated as many victims fail to report this type of crime. OFAC reported that the designees provided computer infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of websites used in virtual currency scams commonly known as “pig butchering.” According to an alert published by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN’) in 2023, pig butchering usually involves scammers, typically based in Southeast Asia, that develop trusted relationships with unsuspecting victims in an effort to trick them into investing in virtual currency by using fake websites designed to look like legitimate investment platforms. OFAC indicated that these designations were timed to coincide with the FBI’s publication of a cybersecurity advisory aimed at enabling individuals and entities in the private sector to identify and take down websites associated with Funnull.
According to OFAC, Funnull purchased IP addresses in bulk from cloud services companies around the world and sold them to cybercriminals who used the IP addresses to host scam platforms and other malicious web content. Funnull also allegedly generated large numbers of similar but unique domain names for these websites and provided cybercriminals with web design templates. OFAC reported that Lizhi, a Chinese national, monitored Funnull’s employees and tracked their progress on various tasks, including the assignment of domains associated with online virtual currency investment fraud and phishing scams.
The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13694, as amended by EO 14144, for engaging in cyber-enabled activities originating outside of the United States that threaten the national security, foreign policy or the economic health and stability of the United States. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | FBI FLASH – Cybersecurity Advisory