“UN Warns of Global Expansion of Billion-Dollar Cyber Scam Industry” – One America News Network
By Poppy Mcpherson
April 21, 2025 – 3:19 AM PDT
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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Asian crime syndicates orchestrating the multibillion-dollar cyber-scam sector are branching out globally, extending their reach to South America and Africa, as law enforcement efforts in Southeast Asia fall short, according to a new report from the United Nations released on Monday.
Criminal organizations originating in Southeast Asia have recently evolved into a complex global industry, establishing extensive compounds that house tens of thousands of workers, many of whom are trafficked and compelled to scam victims worldwide, as stated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Despite intensified crackdowns by Southeast Asian governments, these syndicates have successfully relocated their operations both within and beyond the region, the agency noted, warning of a “potentially irreversible spillover… enabling criminal groups to freely choose their operations and relocate as needed.”
“It spreads like a cancer,” remarked Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC’s acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. “Authorities may manage to contain it in one area, but the roots persist and merely shift.”
Conservative estimates suggest that hundreds of large-scale scam operations are proliferating globally, generating tens of billions in annual revenues, according to the UNODC. The agency called upon nations to collaborate and escalate efforts to disrupt the financial foundations of these gangs.
“The regional cyberfraud industry… has surpassed other forms of transnational crime due to its scalable nature, allowing it to reach millions of potential victims online without the need to transport illicit goods across borders,” said John Wojcik, a regional analyst at UNODC.
In the United States alone, losses to cryptocurrency scams exceeded $5.6 billion in 2023, which included more than $4 million linked to “pig-butchering” scams and romance scams targeting often elderly and vulnerable individuals.
‘INFLECTION POINT’
In recent months, authorities from China, Thailand, and Myanmar have intensified efforts to tackle scam operations in lawless regions along the Thai-Myanmar border, with Thailand cutting power, fuel, and internet access to areas harboring scam compounds.
Nevertheless, syndicates have adapted, relocating their operations to more “remote, vulnerable, and ill-prepared areas of Southeast Asia,” particularly in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, taking advantage of jurisdictions characterized by weak governance and high levels of corruption, the UNODC remarked.
Raids in regions of Cambodia where the industry is most apparent have resulted in significant expansion into more secluded locations, including the western Koh Kong province and areas bordering Thailand and Vietnam, according to the U.N. agency.
New operation sites continue to emerge in Myanmar as the country grapples with ongoing conflict following the military’s takeover four years ago.
Requests for comment from representatives of the Cambodian government and Myanmar junta went unanswered.
Syndicates have also extended their operations to South America, the U.N. agency reported, aiming to bolster partnerships for money laundering and underground banking with South American drug cartels.
Moreover, they have increasingly set up operations in Africa, particularly in Zambia, Angola, and Namibia, as well as in Eastern Europe, including Georgia, noted the agency.
Additionally, gangs have rapidly diversified their workforce, recruiting individuals from a multitude of nationalities, which reflects the industry’s global reach and attempts to dodge anti-trafficking measures.
Citizens from over 50 countries—including Brazil, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan—have been rescued during recent operations along the Thai-Myanmar border.
The UNODC emphasized that the international community is at a “critical inflection point,” cautioning that failure to address this issue could yield “unprecedented consequences for Southeast Asia that resonate globally.”
(This story has been officially corrected after the United Nations reissued its press release to ensure proper attribution in paragraph 4)
Reporting by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Kate Mayberry
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