Asian crime networks controlling multi-billion dollar online fraud industries are expanding globally, the UN warns. Official measures in Southeast Asia are failing to contain these organizations.
The UN reports that Chinese and Southeast Asian gangs lure victims with investment, cryptocurrency, romance, and other scams. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) states cyber fraud is now a sophisticated global industry. Gangs operate compounds housing tens of thousands of trafficked workers forced to commit online scams.
International cooperation is crucial to combat these groups.
“This type of crime is spreading like cancer,” said Benedict Hofmann of UNODC Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Criminal networks are expanding from Asia to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Pacific Islands.
In 2023, cyber fraud generated an estimated $37 billion in East and Southeast Asia and over $5.6 billion in the US, according to UNODC.
The UN urges international action, calling the situation a “critical turning point,” warning of “unprecedented consequences” for Southeast Asia with global implications if these gangs are not confronted.
