The United States has launched a tougher crackdown on global cybercrime, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing new visa restrictions targeting cybercriminals and, in some cases, their immediate family members during his final day at ASEAN meetings in Manila.
Rubio unveiled the policy in the Philippines, where leaders have been grappling with the rise of industrial-scale scam centres across Southeast Asia. The announcement came as U.S. officials stepped up regional cooperation to combat online fraud networks.
Introduced on Thursday under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the measure allows the U.S. government to deny visas to foreign nationals found responsible for or complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled offences. Immediate family members may also face visa restrictions.
“The immediate family members of individuals engaged in such illicit activities may also be subjected to visa restrictions,” Rubio said.
The announcement coincided with separate meetings between FBI Director Kash Patel and regional leaders on tackling scam operations. Rubio also raised the issue with Cambodia’s foreign minister, as international scrutiny grows over scam compounds operating in the country.
Rubio said the policy supports President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14390, Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens, which directs federal agencies to intensify efforts against overseas scam networks.
“As President Trump made clear in E.O. 14390, his administration is taking action to counter an unprecedented threat from online investment scams,” Rubio said.
The State Department identified so-called “pig butchering” schemes as a major concern. These long-running investment frauds have cost Americans billions of dollars. Rubio said many are orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organisations.
“Scammers have defrauded U.S. citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 alone while fueling corruption, money laundering, and human trafficking,” he said.
Rubio also highlighted the growing threat of online sextortion, saying American children have increasingly become targets of offenders operating overseas.
The new policy covers a wide range of cyber-enabled crimes, including online scams and sextortion.
Visa restrictions are part of a broader U.S. strategy that also includes sanctions, criminal prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests and international law enforcement cooperation. Washington has already acted against cybercrime infrastructure, including the seizure of systems linked to subsidiaries of the Huione Group, which U.S. authorities have tied to large-scale scam operations.
“By restricting visa issuance to those who are responsible for or complicit in these criminal enterprises, we are sending a clear message: The United States will go after those who prey on our citizens,” Rubio said.
Although the State Department did not identify any specific countries, the policy applies globally. Citizens of Nigeria and other nations could be affected if they are found to be involved in cyber-enabled crimes. That means African countries working more closely with Washington to combat online fraud may also see the impact of the new restrictions.
Cybersecurity experts have welcomed the move while urging careful implementation.
Betsy Cooper, founding director of the Aspen Policy Academy, said stronger action against online scammers is needed but warned the policy should be applied carefully.
“Scamming people is a growing global enterprise, and it is a laudable goal to penalize those who scam and defraud people since they so rarely suffer consequences for their actions,” she said. She added that the visa restrictions would be a positive step “so long as the new visa controls are used narrowly and deployed only against verified scammers and fraudsters.”
The latest measure continues a broader trend in Trump’s second term, with the State Department increasingly using visa restrictions as a foreign policy tool. Similar measures have already been imposed on officials accused of facilitating illegal migration and on drug traffickers linked to the fentanyl trade. Extending the policy to cybercriminals and, in some cases, their families marks Washington’s latest effort to increase pressure on transnational criminal networks.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah