Agency says gangs caused $37bn in losses in Asia as they gain new footholds in Africa, South America, and Middle East.Asian cybercrime syndicates have caused an estimated $37bn in losses in the East and Southeast Asian regions, with the United Nations warning that the reach of the criminal networks is expanding globally.
In a report released on Monday, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) detailed how Chinese and Southeast Asian gangs have been raking in tens of billions of dollars annually targeting victims in an array of cybercrimes, including fake investments, cryptocurrency, romance and other scams.
The criminal organisation have largely operated out of squalid compounds in the border areas of Myanmar, as well as in so-called “special economic zones” designed to attract foreign investment in Cambodia and Laos. They have relied on often trafficked workers forced to work in squalid compounds.
While the report said countries in East and Southeast Asia lost an estimated $37bn to cyber-fraud in 2023, there were “much larger estimated losses” worldwide.
The report warned that the networks have been spreading to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Pacific Islands. Advertisement
“We are seeing a global expansion of East and Southeast Asian organized crime groups,” said Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
“This reflects both industry growth and a strategy to evade crackdowns in Southeast Asia,” Hofmann said.
‘Spreads like a cancer’
The report said the syndicates have established footholds in African nations, including Zambia, Angola, and Namibia, as well as Pacific island nations, including Fiji and Vanuatu.
They have a …