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3d ago

UN Says Asia‑Pacific Scams Cost Victims Up to $114 Billion as Networks Industrialize

The U.N. warns the tech‑driven criminal economy is using AI, crypto and trafficking to scale fraud and is outpacing conventional law enforcement, requiring coordinated cross‑border action.

FILE - People from China, Vietnam and Ethiopia, believed to have been trafficked and forced to work in scam centers, sit with their faces masked while in detention after being released from the centers in Myawaddy district in eastern Myanmar, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanaphon Wuttison, File)
A Thai soldier walks near small booths lined with acoustic foam used to make scam calls to victims, inside a compound in the O’Smach area that the Thai military said was used for scam operations, at the Chong Chom-O’Smach border crossing, in Samraong, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa To match Special Report CAMBODIA-SCAMS/
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Overview

  • A UNODC report released Tuesday, July 21, 2026, estimated combined scam losses across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand at between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion for 2025.
  • The agency says losses are at least three times larger than its 2023 estimate, showing that locally rooted gangs have merged into a transnational, service‑based criminal economy.
  • Large fortified scam compounds in Southeast Asia now house people from more than 80 countries who are often trafficked or coerced into running romance, investment and gambling fraud.
  • Criminals are using generative and agentic AI, deepfakes, AI translation, encrypted channels, satellite internet and cryptocurrencies to find victims, automate scams and hide proceeds.
  • UNODC calls for cross‑border cooperation, anti‑corruption measures, crypto tracing and specialized law‑enforcement training because raids, extraditions and sanctions have displaced but not dismantled networks and leave victims at risk.