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First Post
21-04-2025
- First Post
A billion dollar scam: UN warns of ‘cancer' of cyber crime as Southeast Asian syndicates go global
Criminal networks that emerged in Southeast Asia in recent years, opening sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many trafficked and forced to scam victims around the world, have evolved into a sophisticated global industry, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said read more Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stuck in limbo at a compound inside the KK Park, a fraud factory, and a human trafficking hub on the border with Thailand-Myanmar after a multinational crackdown on the compounds run by criminal gangs, operated by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) in Myawaddy, Myanmar. File image/ Reuters Asian crime syndicates behind the multibillion-dollar cyberscam industry are expanding globally including to South America and Africa, as raids in Southeast Asia fail to contain their activities, the United Nations said in a report on Monday. Criminal networks that emerged in Southeast Asia in recent years, opening sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many trafficked and forced to scam victims around the world, have evolved into a sophisticated global industry, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even as Southeast Asian governments have intensified a crackdown, syndicates have moved within and beyond the region, the agency said, adding that a 'potentially irreversible spillover has taken place… leaving criminal groups free to pick, choose, and move… as needed'. 'It spreads like a cancer,' said John Wojcik, a regional analyst for UNODC. 'Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots never disappear; they simply migrate.' Conservative estimates indicate there are hundreds of large-scale scam farms around the world generating tens of billions of dollars in annual profits, the UNODC said. The agency called on countries to work together and intensify efforts to disrupt the gangs' financing. 'The regional cyberfraud industry… has outpaced other transnational crimes, given that it is easily scalable and able to reach millions of potential victims online, with no need to move or traffic illicit goods across borders,' said Wojcik. The United States alone reported more than $5.6 billion in losses to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, including more than $4 million in so-called pig-butchering scams or romance scams designed to extort money from often elderly and vulnerable people. 'Inflection point' In recent months, authorities from China, where many of the 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But syndicates have adapted, shifting operations between 'the most remote, vulnerable, and underprepared parts of Southeast Asia', especially 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, as well as areas bordering Thailand and Vietnam, the U.N. 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 U.N. 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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'.
Straits Times
21-04-2025
- Straits Times
'Cancer' of billion-dollar cyberscam industry spreading globally
FILE PHOTO: A general view of Shwe Kokko city, a casino, entertainment, and tourism complex, from Thailand's side of the border, after Thailand said it would suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centers, amid growing pressure on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people of multiple nationalities, in Mae Sot district, Thailand, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stuck in limbo at a compound inside the KK Park, a fraud factory, and a human trafficking hub on the border with Thailand-Myanmar after a multinational crackdown on the compounds run by criminal gangs, operated by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) in Myawaddy, Myanmar, February 26, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Multinational victims of scam centers, who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stand on a vessel floating towards the Thai side of border via Moei River in Phop Phra District, Tak province, Thailand February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Krit Phromsakla Na Sakolnakorn/File Photo BANGKOK - Asian crime syndicates behind the multibillion-dollar cyberscam industry are expanding globally including to South America and Africa, as raids in Southeast Asia fail to contain their activities, the United Nations said in a report on Monday. Criminal networks that emerged in Southeast Asia in recent years, opening sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many trafficked and forced to scam victims around the world, have evolved into a sophisticated global industry, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. Even as Southeast Asian governments have intensified a crackdown, syndicates have moved within and beyond the region, the agency said, adding that a 'potentially irreversible spillover has taken place... leaving criminal groups free to pick, choose, and move... as needed'. 'It spreads like a cancer,' said John Wojcik, a regional analyst for UNODC. 'Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots never disappear; they simply migrate.' Conservative estimates indicate there are hundreds of large-scale scam farms around the world generating tens of billions of dollars in annual profits, the UNODC said. The agency called on countries to work together and intensify efforts to disrupt the gangs' financing. 'The regional cyberfraud industry... has outpaced other transnational crimes, given that it is easily scalable and able to reach millions of potential victims online, with no need to move or traffic illicit goods across borders,' said Wojcik. The United States alone reported more than $5.6 billion in losses to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, including more than $4 million in so-called pig-butchering scams or romance scams designed to extort money from often elderly and vulnerable people. 'INFLECTION POINT' In recent months, authorities from China, where many of the 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. But syndicates have adapted, shifting operations between 'the most remote, vulnerable, and underprepared parts of Southeast Asia', especially 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, as well as areas bordering Thailand and Vietnam, the U.N. 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 U.N. 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'. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Arab News
27-02-2025
- Arab News
‘Escaping hell': Pakistanis among Myanmar scam center workers pleading to go home
MYAWADDY: Hundreds of exhausted young men lie in an open-sided detention center in a seedy Myanmar border town, sweating through thick tropical heat by day and prey to clouds of mosquitoes by night. They are among some 7,000 people from more than two dozen countries released from scam compounds who are now enduring a grueling wait to be sent home through Thailand. Conditions in the overcrowded temporary camp visited by AFP in the town of Myawaddy, near the Thai border, were squalid and those held there were begging to leave. 'It's really no good,' one 18-year-old Malaysian man told AFP, saying the toilets and showers were so dirty they were unusable. 'I hope I can contact my parents quickly so I can go.' A Chinese detainee who gave his family name as Wang said he was 'very happy' at the prospect of getting out. 'I can finally escape this hell... China is the safest,' he said. 'Help me, help me, help me' Scam centers have sprung up in Myanmar's lawless border areas in recent years as part of a criminal industry worth billions of dollars a year. Thousands of foreign workers staff the centers, trawling social media for victims to fleece, often through romance or investment cons. Many workers say they were trafficked or tricked into taking the work and suffer beatings and abuse, though the government in China — where most come from — regards them as criminal suspects. Under heavy pressure from Beijing, Myanmar's junta and allied militias have taken action to curb the centers. The 'crackdown' has so far involved armed uniformed men coming to the sites and asking for volunteers to leave and go home, several freed workers told AFP in Myawaddy. But processing the workers for repatriation has been slow, leaving them trapped in limbo, smoking and playing cards to pass the time in the detention facility, which has a roof but no walls to keep the elements and insects out. Many had their passports confiscated by scam center bosses, and those AFP spoke to said their mobile phones were taken away. An Indian man who said he was tricked into working in the scam centers after applying for a data entry job in Thailand, told AFP he had contacted his embassy in Bangkok several times. He begged them 'help me, help me, help me. But no one helps me,' he said. 'The feeling is not good because we are in trouble right now.' Myanmar's raging civil war has complicated efforts to tackle the scam compounds, as most are in areas outside the ruling junta's control. The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), an independent militia allied to the junta, controls two of the most notorious scam towns, Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko. The BGF released thousands from illegal scam compounds last week and wants to swiftly deport them to neighboring Thailand for repatriation, saying it is struggling to cope with looking after so many people. 'People have to stay in cramped conditions,' said its spokesman Naing Maung Zaw. 'We have to cook three meals to feed thousands of people and arrange their health care,' he said, adding he was worried about a possible outbreak of contagious diseases. Struggling to cope The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people — many of them Chinese men — may be working in Myanmar scam centers against their will. Gangs that run the compounds lure people with promises of high-paying jobs, then force them to defraud people from around the world or face severe punishment and abuse. The sites on the Thai-Myanmar border vary in how they treat their staff, analysts say, and Thai officials have claimed that a majority of workers go there intentionally. Victims released from smaller compounds claim that as a more sophisticated operation, Shwe Kokko — one of the area's biggest scam hubs — draws more people who willingly go there to commit fraud. But 'not everyone living in Shwe Kokko is a criminal,' Naing Maung Zaw said. A Chinese man surnamed Shen denied allegations that the scam center workers had traveled to Myanmar intentionally, saying he had been tricked and forced. 'If I did it voluntarily, I would take all legal responsibilities,' he said. But so far China has treated all returning detainees — 600 were sent back last week — as suspects, with state TV showing them marched off the plane in handcuffs by police on their return home. Thailand, Myanmar and China are expected to hold three-way talks in the coming weeks to arrange logistics for further repatriations, with Thailand saying it is working with over a dozen foreign embassies. One of 14 detained Pakistani men who hoped to return before Ramadan said he felt abandoned by authorities after hearing of other repatriations. 'We know we're safe now. But it's been eight days. So why can't we go to Thailand now?' he told AFP. Stretched for resources to look after the hundreds of foreigners in their charge, Naing Maung Zaw pleaded to foreign embassies to 'come and take your nationals ... They want to go home.'
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
'Escaping hell': Myanmar scam centre workers plead to go home
Hundreds of exhausted young men lie in an open-sided detention centre in a seedy Myanmar border town, sweating through thick tropical heat by day and prey to clouds of mosquitoes by night. They are among some 7,000 people from more than two dozen countries released from scam compounds who are now enduring a gruelling wait to be sent home through Thailand. Conditions in the overcrowded temporary camp visited by AFP in the town of Myawaddy, near the Thai border, were squalid and those held there were begging to leave. "It's really no good," one 18-year-old Malaysian man told AFP, saying the toilets and showers were so dirty they were unusable. "I hope I can contact my parents quickly so I can go." A Chinese detainee who gave his family name as Wang said he was "very happy" at the prospect of getting out. "I can finally escape this hell... China is the safest," he said. - 'Help me, help me, help me' - Scam centres have sprung up in Myanmar's lawless border areas in recent years as part of a criminal industry worth billions of dollars a year. Thousands of foreign workers staff the centres, trawling social media for victims to fleece, often through romance or investment cons. Many workers say they were trafficked or tricked into taking the work and suffer beatings and abuse, though the government in China -- where most come from -- regards them as criminal suspects. Under heavy pressure from Beijing, Myanmar's junta and allied militias have taken action to curb the centres. The "crackdown" has so far involved armed uniformed men coming to the sites and asking for volunteers to leave and go home, several freed workers told AFP in Myawaddy. But processing the workers for repatriation has been slow, leaving them trapped in limbo, smoking and playing cards to pass the time in the detention facility, which has a roof but no walls to keep the elements and insects out. Many had their passports confiscated by scam centre bosses, and those AFP spoke to said their mobile phones were taken away. An Indian man who said he was tricked into working in the scam centres after applying for a data entry job in Thailand, told AFP he had contacted his embassy in Bangkok several times. He begged them "help me, help me, help me. But no one helps me," he said. "The feeling is not good because we are in trouble right now." Myanmar's raging civil war has complicated efforts to tackle the scam compounds, as most are in areas outside the ruling junta's control. The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), an independent militia allied to the junta, controls two of the most notorious scam towns, Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko. The BGF released thousands from illegal scam compounds last week and wants to swiftly deport them to neighbouring Thailand for repatriation, saying it is struggling to cope with looking after so many people. "People have to stay in cramped conditions," said its spokesman Naing Maung Zaw. "We have to cook three meals to feed thousands of people and arrange their healthcare," he said, adding he was worried about a possible outbreak of contagious diseases. - Struggling to cope - The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people -- many of them Chinese men -- may be working in Myanmar scam centres against their will. Gangs that run the compounds lure people with promises of high-paying jobs, then force them to defraud people from around the world or face severe punishment and abuse. The sites on the Thai-Myanmar border vary in how they treat their staff, analysts say, and Thai officials have claimed that a majority of workers go there intentionally. Victims released from smaller compounds claim that as a more sophisticated operation, Shwe Kokko -- one of the area's biggest scam hubs -- draws more people who willingly go there to commit fraud. But "not everyone living in Shwe Kokko is a criminal," Naing Maung Zaw said. A Chinese man surnamed Shen denied allegations that the scam centre workers had travelled to Myanmar intentionally, saying he had been tricked and forced. "If I did it voluntarily, I would take all legal responsibilities," he said. But so far China has treated all returning detainees -- 600 were sent back last week -- as suspects, with state TV showing them marched off the plane in handcuffs by police on their return home. Thailand, Myanmar and China are expected to hold three-way talks in the coming weeks to arrange logistics for further repatriations, with Thailand saying it is working with over a dozen foreign embassies. One of 14 detained Pakistani men who hoped to return before Ramadan said he felt abandoned by authorities after hearing of other repatriations. "We know we're safe now. But it's been eight days. So why can't we go to Thailand now?" he told AFP. Stretched for resources to look after the hundreds of foreigners in their charge, Naing Maung Zaw pleaded to foreign embassies to "come and take your nationals ... They want to go home." bur-sjc/pdw/cms/hmn
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
'Escaping hell': Myanmar scam centre workers plead to go home
Hundreds of exhausted young men lie in an open-sided detention centre in a seedy Myanmar border town, sweating through thick tropical heat by day and prey to clouds of mosquitoes by night. They are among some 7,000 people from more than two dozen countries released from scam compounds who are now enduring a gruelling wait to be sent home through Thailand. Conditions in the overcrowded temporary camp visited by AFP in the town of Myawaddy, near the Thai border, were squalid and those held there were begging to leave. "It's really no good," one 18-year-old Malaysian man told AFP, saying the toilets and showers were so dirty they were unusable. "I hope I can contact my parents quickly so I can go." A Chinese detainee who gave his family name as Wang said he was "very happy" at the prospect of getting out. "I can finally escape this hell... China is the safest," he said. - 'Help me, help me, help me' - Scam centres have sprung up in Myanmar's lawless border areas in recent years as part of a criminal industry worth billions of dollars a year. Thousands of foreign workers staff the centres, trawling social media for victims to fleece, often through romance or investment cons. Many workers say they were trafficked or tricked into taking the work and suffer beatings and abuse, though the government in China -- where most come from -- regards them as criminal suspects. Under heavy pressure from Beijing, Myanmar's junta and allied militias have taken action to curb the centres. The "crackdown" has so far involved armed uniformed men coming to the sites and asking for volunteers to leave and go home, several freed workers told AFP in Myawaddy. But processing the workers for repatriation has been slow, leaving them trapped in limbo, smoking and playing cards to pass the time in the detention facility, which has a roof but no walls to keep the elements and insects out. Many had their passports confiscated by scam centre bosses, and those AFP spoke to said their mobile phones were taken away. An Indian man who said he was tricked into working in the scam centres after applying for a data entry job in Thailand, told AFP he had contacted his embassy in Bangkok several times. He begged them "help me, help me, help me. But no one helps me," he said. "The feeling is not good because we are in trouble right now." Myanmar's raging civil war has complicated efforts to tackle the scam compounds, as most are in areas outside the ruling junta's control. The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), an independent militia allied to the junta, controls two of the most notorious scam towns, Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko. The BGF released thousands from illegal scam compounds last week and wants to swiftly deport them to neighbouring Thailand for repatriation, saying it is struggling to cope with looking after so many people. "People have to stay in cramped conditions," said its spokesman Naing Maung Zaw. "We have to cook three meals to feed thousands of people and arrange their healthcare," he said, adding he was worried about a possible outbreak of contagious diseases. - Struggling to cope - The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people -- many of them Chinese men -- may be working in Myanmar scam centres against their will. Gangs that run the compounds lure people with promises of high-paying jobs, then force them to defraud people from around the world or face severe punishment and abuse. The sites on the Thai-Myanmar border vary in how they treat their staff, analysts say, and Thai officials have claimed that a majority of workers go there intentionally. Victims released from smaller compounds claim that as a more sophisticated operation, Shwe Kokko -- one of the area's biggest scam hubs -- draws more people who willingly go there to commit fraud. But "not everyone living in Shwe Kokko is a criminal," Naing Maung Zaw said. A Chinese man surnamed Shen denied allegations that the scam centre workers had travelled to Myanmar intentionally, saying he had been tricked and forced. "If I did it voluntarily, I would take all legal responsibilities," he said. But so far China has treated all returning detainees -- 600 were sent back last week -- as suspects, with state TV showing them marched off the plane in handcuffs by police on their return home. Thailand, Myanmar and China are expected to hold three-way talks in the coming weeks to arrange logistics for further repatriations, with Thailand saying it is working with over a dozen foreign embassies. One of 14 detained Pakistani men who hoped to return before Ramadan said he felt abandoned by authorities after hearing of other repatriations. "We know we're safe now. But it's been eight days. So why can't we go to Thailand now?" he told AFP. Stretched for resources to look after the hundreds of foreigners in their charge, Naing Maung Zaw pleaded to foreign embassies to "come and take your nationals ... They want to go home." bur-sjc/pdw/cms/hmn
