UN warns that Asian scam operations are spreading globally
Indonesian nationals who had worked at scam centers in Myanmar disembark their plane upon arrival from Thailand, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, Pool, File)
BANGKOK, Thailand — Transnational organized crime groups in East and Southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe. This is in response to increased crackdowns by authorities, according to a United Nations report issued on Monday.
For several years, scam compounds have proliferated in Southeast Asia. This is especially so in border areas of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as in the Philippines. They shift operations from site to site to stay a step ahead of the police.
Scam centers have bilked victims out of billions of dollars through false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. More recently, they are now being reported to be operating as far afield as Africa and Latin America.
Asian crime syndicates have been expanding operations deeper into remote areas with lax law enforcement vulnerable to the influx. This is according to the report issued by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime or UNODC.
READ: Inside the dark world of Philippine scam centers
The report is titled “Inflection Point: Global Implications of Scam Centers, Underground Banking and Illicit Online Marketplaces in Southeast Asia.”
“This reflects both a natural expansion as the industry grows and seeks new ways and places to do business, but also a hedging against future risks should disruption continue and intensify in Southeast Asia,” Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC’s acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.
UNODC estimates that hundreds of industrial-scale scam centers generate just under $40 billion in annual profits.
Trend of expansion beyond the region
The trend to hedge beyond the region has been consistent with continued reports of crackdowns targeting Asian-led scam centers. These are those found operating in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and select Pacific islands.
There are also related money laundering, people trafficking and recruitment services discovered in Europe, North America and South America.
In Africa, Nigeria has become a hot spot, with police raids in late 2024 and early 2025 leading to many arrests. Those arrested include people from East and Southeast Asia, suspected of cryptocurrency and romance scams.
Zambia and Angola have also busted Asian-linked cyberfraud operations.
In Latin America, the report says that it’s “notable that Brazil has emerged as one country that has faced a growing set of challenges related to cyber-enabled fraud, online gambling, and related money laundering, with some linkages to criminal groups operating in Southeast Asia.”
It also notes that in late 2023 in Peru, more than 40 Malaysians were rescued after being trafficked by the Red Dragon syndicate. This Taiwan-based gang forced them to commit cyber-enabled fraud.
The report also points to crackdowns on Asian-led scam centers in the Middle East and some Pacific islands.
Asian-led groups
Alarmingly, Asian-led groups have been expanding the geographical scope of their operations. Meanwhile, the involvement of criminal groups from other parts of the world is also growing, the report says.
New online markets, money laundering networks, stolen data products, malware, artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies are laying the ground for the rise of crime as a service, the report says.
These technological innovations facilitate conducting their businesses online and adapt to crackdowns.
“The convergence between the acceleration and professionalization of these operations on the one hand and their geographical expansion into new parts of the region and beyond on the other translates into a new intensity in the industry — one that governments need to be prepared to respond to,” Hofmann says.
