North Korean IT workers are reportedly setting up front companies in China to trick Western companies into hiring them. 

The U.S. news website Axios issued the story Tuesday, citing a report published by Strider Technologies, a strategic intelligence company.

The report identified 35 Chinese companies linked to North Korean IT worker operations and said there is evidence they are affiliated with Liaoning China Trade Industry, a company sanctioned by the U.S. that has shipped IT equipment to the North Korean government.

Axios said North Korean IT workers attempt to scam U.S. companies into hiring them with the goal of using their salaries to fund the North’s weapons programs and that Fortune 500 companies have reported being plagued by them.

Striders’ CEO Greg Levesque said the scope and scale of these operations is far greater than people originally knew.