Join the Fight against Scams

Operation Shamrock exists to educate the public, mobilize collective action, and disrupt the operations networks of the scam industry.

Transnational organized crime syndicates are stealing hundreds of billions of dollars, household by household. Using sophisticated scams of unprecedented frequency and magnitude, scammers develop relationships of trust with victims and then coerce them into deceptive and fictitious cryptocurrency investment schemes.

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By the Numbers: What We’re Fighting

  • $64 billion

    Estimated annual value of funds stolen worldwide by transnational criminal networks. (US Insitute for Peace, 2023)

  • 80%

    of people who encountered an investment scam lost money. (BBB, 2024)

  • 40%

    of Americans receive suspicious emails, messages, or phone calls every day. (IPX1031, 2024)

  • 57%

    of U.S. scam victims don’t report scams to relevant authorities. (IPX1031, 2024)

  • 4.2 million

    Number of complaints of internet scams received by the FBI in the past five years. (FBI, 2025)

  • Nearly 40%

    Year-over-year growth of pig-butchering scam revenue in 2024. (Chainalysis, 2025)

 FAQs

  • Yes. Operation Shamrock is registered in the U.S. as a nonprofit corporation. Operation Shamrock is a public charity exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The organization's Federal Identification Number (EIN) is 33-2839962.

  • Erin West is a globally recognized speaker and educator specializing in transnational organized crime, with a focus on the criminal investigation and prosecution of cryptocurrency-related cases. Erin formerly served as a Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County, California. Read her full bio.

  • “Pig butchering” refers to a sophisticated, devastating type of financial scam. The name comes from the practice of fattening a hog before slaughter, except the criminals are manipulating you to invest as much of your money as possible into fake cryptocurrency or other online investments. Read about how it works.

  • Visit Operation Shamrock’s resources for scam victims to learn what steps to take if you’ve been scammed.