How Scammers Target Users and How to Stop the Scamdemic
The Future of Crypto Compliance | Host Henri Arslanian interviews Operation Shamrock’s Erin West about the fight against crypto scams and the organized criminals behind them.
Crimes like romance scams and “pig butchering” are no longer niche fraud stories. We are living in what Erin calls a scamdemic. These crimes are industrial-scale operations run out of compounds across Southeast Asia. They target everyday people. People are losing everything and are often pushed into debt.
Henri and Erin discuss:
What pig butchering scams really are
Why scammers are so effective psychologically
How (and why) organized crime uses crypto as the main payment rail
The role of exchanges, stablecoins, and compliance gaps
Why crypto ATMs are “theft machines”
How AI and deepfakes make scams harder to detect
The disturbing link between scams and human trafficking
Why shame prevents victims from reporting
What to do immediately if you suspect you are being scammed
