A new UN report has warned that criminal syndicates behind Asia’s billion-dollar cyber scam industry are spreading operations across the globe, reaching as far as South America, Eastern Europe and Africa, as enforcement in Southeast Asia falls short of containing them.
Once concentrated in lawless compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, these organised networks now pose a transnational threat, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Authorities are struggling to keep pace as the syndicates adapt, migrate and diversify.
“It spreads like a cancer,” said Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC’s acting regional representative. “Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots never disappear; they simply migrate.”
The cyber fraud industry has rapidly outgrown other types of transnational crime. It doesn’t rely on moving illicit goods — only on an internet connection and access to vulnerable victims. Recent years have seen a surge in ‘pig-butchering’ scams, targeting victims through fake online relationships and crypto fraud. In the U.S. alone, such scams caused losses of over $5.6 billion in 2023.
Despite crackdowns on border zones between Thailand and Myanmar — including cutting off electricity and internet — operations have shifted to less monitored regions, including Cambodia’s Koh Kong and parts of Laos and Vietnam. The UN says hundreds of scam “farms” now operate worldwide, generating tens of billions in annual profit.
Governments across Southeast Asia are under pressure. Cambodia’s government has pledged action, forming a commission led by Prime Minister Hun Manet. “To overcome this complex problem, we need collaboration, not blame,” said spokesman Pen Bona.
But while regional efforts grow, so does the industry. Gangs have established footholds in Zambia, Angola, and Georgia, while building money laundering links with South American cartels. Victims and trafficked workers from over 50 countries have been rescued this year alone.
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Qatar’s prime minister said on Tuesday that relations with Iran had been damaged by Tehran’s recent missile attack on a U.S. airbase in Qatar, but expressed hope that ties could eventually return to normal.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will probably meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during this week’s NATO summit, offering Kyiv an opportunity to push for U.S. Patriot missiles and stronger sanctions on Russia.
Kazakhstan is in discussions with Russia to relocate the production of the Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) launch vehicle from Russia to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, according to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday called for an unconditional end to defence trade restrictions among NATO allies and expressed Türkiye’s interest in hosting the alliance’s 2026 summit.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has announced reshuffles in Georgia’s economic leadership, unveiling new appointments.
Over 110 million people across Europe — or more than 20% of the population — are exposed to dangerous levels of transport noise that threaten human health, the environment, and economic stability, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report released today.
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will probably meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during this week’s NATO summit, offering Kyiv an opportunity to push for U.S. Patriot missiles and stronger sanctions on Russia.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday called for an unconditional end to defence trade restrictions among NATO allies and expressed Türkiye’s interest in hosting the alliance’s 2026 summit.
Qatar’s prime minister said on Tuesday that relations with Iran had been damaged by Tehran’s recent missile attack on a U.S. airbase in Qatar, but expressed hope that ties could eventually return to normal.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will probably meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during this week’s NATO summit, offering Kyiv an opportunity to push for U.S. Patriot missiles and stronger sanctions on Russia.
Kazakhstan is in discussions with Russia to relocate the production of the Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) launch vehicle from Russia to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, according to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday called for an unconditional end to defence trade restrictions among NATO allies and expressed Türkiye’s interest in hosting the alliance’s 2026 summit.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has announced reshuffles in Georgia’s economic leadership, unveiling new appointments.
Over 110 million people across Europe — or more than 20% of the population — are exposed to dangerous levels of transport noise that threaten human health, the environment, and economic stability, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report released today.
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