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The FBI has dismantled more than 40 North Korean laptop farms in Texas with assistance from CrowdStrike, seizing over 200 devices. According to The New York Times, no arrests have been made yet because authorities prioritized shutting down the operations quickly rather than waiting for prosecutors to file charges. However, officials warned that participants could face criminal penalties if they continue their involvement in remote fraud schemes.

North Korea utilizes these fake remote workers to generate income despite economic sanctions, reportedly earning around $500 million annually. This scheme impacts startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Amazon’s IT department previously identified an infiltrator by detecting an 110ms keyboard input lag that betrayed the worker’s distant location.

U.S. authorities have been cracking down on this activity since last year, having previously shut down 29 farms across 16 states. In November 2025, four U.S. citizens and a Ukrainian national were convicted of similar scams. Recently, the Justice Department unsealed indictments against two U.S. citizens and ten China-based North Koreans, who had defrauded over $3 million from 70 companies between 2019 and 2025.

Adam Meyers of CrowdStrike stated that this fraud scheme is increasing in both prevalence and complexity. He noted that while his team identified an average of two new cases daily last month, the true scale of the problem remains unknown. The operation relies on facilitators in the United States who host laptops to make remote workers appear locally based. Meyers explained that these individuals often become deeply involved as demands for their help increase over time.