‘Cancer' of multibillion-dollar cyberscam industry spreading globally — UN
The US alone reported more than $5.6bn (R105bn) in losses to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, including more than $4m (R75m) in pig-butchering or romance scams designed to extort money, often from elderly and vulnerable people.
In recent months, authorities from China, where many gangs originate, Thailand and Myanmar have led a crackdown on scam operations in lawless areas of the Thai-Myanmar border, with Thailand cutting power, fuel and internet supply to areas housing scam compounds.
However, syndicates have adapted, shifting operations between 'the most remote, vulnerable and underprepared parts of Southeast Asia', specially in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, and beyond, exploiting jurisdictions with weak governance and high rates of corruption, the UNODC said.
Raids in parts of Cambodia where the industry is most visible 'led to significant expansion in more remote locations', including the country's western Koh Kong province, and areas bordering Thailand and Vietnam, the UN agency said.
New sites also continue to be developed in Myanmar, it added, a country in the throes of an expanding conflict since the military seized power four years ago.
Spokespeople for the Cambodian government and Myanmar junta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Syndicates have expanded into South America, the UN agency said, seeking to enhance money laundering and underground banking partnerships with South American drug cartels.
They are increasingly establishing operations in Africa, including in Zambia, Angola, and Namibia, and in Eastern Europe including Georgia, the agency said.
Gangs have also rapidly diversified their workforce, recruiting people from dozens of nationalities, according to the agency, reflecting how the industry scams targets across the globe and has sought to evade anti-trafficking efforts.
Citizens of more than 50 countries, from Brazil to Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan, were rescued during recent crackdowns on the Thai-Myanmar border.
The international community is at a 'critical inflection point', the UNODC said, urging that failure to address the problem would have 'unprecedented consequences for Southeast Asia that reverberate globally'.
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