Fighting Scams and Fraud: January 2026
Operation Shamrock Newsletter
Friends,
It’s a new year, and we’re ready to continue our work to fight scams and financial crime. We have multiple goals for the year ahead. Among them:
ENGAGE in more collaborative conversations with agencies, industry, and peers to map out strategies and take action.
SCALE the education, training, and tool access of the Crypto Coalition to reach more of law enforcement to support more victims.
ENHANCE the capacity of operationshamrock.org to provide support resources, a reporting portal, educational content, podcasts, news articles, and opportunities to help.
INCREASE Train-the-Trainer events to help people educate their own communities about scams, how to avoid them, and what to do if a scammer steals from them.
CHANGE the narrative from “scams happen to older people” to “anyone can be a scam target.” Scammers have scripts for everyone.
Along the way, we’ll continue to meet weekly with scam survivors, hold regular meetings and training sessions, and expand our outreach efforts.
Our commitment: Operation Shamrock plays an important role in raising awareness of the scam industry and in bringing organizations together to fight it more effectively.
Erin West
Founder, Operation Shamrock
January Victim Support Forum
January 21, 9 a.m. Pacific — Our next online meeting for survivors, victims, and supporters will focus on “Social Media Do’s and Don’ts.” >> Register
Stolen Podcast
In case you missed them, check out our December episodes.
Sextortion Is Killing Kids: Inside the Scam Targeting Teens
Intelligence analyst Paul Raffile explains the alarming rise of the financial scam targeting teen boys.Amazon Scam Call Evolves into Government Impersonation
Scammers told Jane that her banking information had been compromised — but the government would help.Meta, Scam Ads, and the First Scam-Driven Border Conflict
Jake Sims talks about his on-stage interview with a Meta exec about scam ads. And he outlines the role of scams in the Thai-Cambodian conflict.A 2026 Blueprint to End the Scamdemic
Erin delivers an unfiltered view of the global scam crisis, scam compounds, Big Tech profits, and why 2026 is the year we must divide and conquer to stop scams.
5 Stories Worth Reading
New California Innovation Council Governor Gavin Newsom named Erin West to the council, an initiative leveraging the collective knowledge of the nation’s top tech policy experts.
Why Scammers Love Crypto ATMs Crypto ATMs have become one of the most powerful tools for scammers to steal money quickly, anonymously, and irreversibly.
What Is Phishing? Recognize It and Avoid Scams Something’s fishy about that email message. Don’t take the bait. Learn about phishing, spear phishing, and how to avoid them.
Triage Team: 2025 Stats, 2026 Goals Our Triage Team worked 207 cases, representing over $162 million in losses from people in the United States and Canada.
Fake Facebook Support: Sandra’s Story Connecting with a fake Facebook support agent led to a terrifying ordeal with threats of prison if Sandra didn’t comply.
How to Support Operation Shamrock
Transnational organized crime syndicates steal hundreds of billions of dollars, household by household, every year.
Donations allow us to continue our work and build capacity to expand education, foster private-public connections, and take action in the fight against scams. If you’re unable to donate, sharing our message is a great way to support our efforts.
Operation Shamrock is registered in the U.S. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.