More than 1,800 people have been arrested in a major anti-scam operation across seven Asian jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives, and Macao, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The coordinated crackdown, which ran through late May, targeted online shopping scams, phone fraud, fake job offers and investment schemes. Police froze nearly 33,000 bank accounts and intercepted $20 million in fraudulent funds, said Wong Chun-yue, chief superintendent of Hong Kong's Commercial Crime Bureau.
One of the more sophisticated cases involved a finance director in Singapore, who was tricked by deepfake videos posing as the CEO of a multinational company. The victim wired nearly $500,000 to Hong Kong in March. Thanks to cross-border cooperation, authorities were able to recover the funds, said Aileen Yap from Singapore’s anti-scam command.
Authorities noted that scam operations often exploit both victims and workers. Many recruits are lured under false pretenses, then forced to work under threat and poor conditions, according to a recent UN report.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime warned that transnational scam syndicates have been rapidly expanding across East and Southeast Asia, especially in remote or border areas of Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines. These syndicates frequently relocate to evade police, using fake romances, investment pitches, and gambling apps to target victims worldwide.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday in Ankara as both countries explored new pathways for bil...
Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Pakistan have received a significant boost in their fight against the impacts of climate change with the approval...
Ukraine has introduced nationwide restrictions on electricity use, enforcing eight-hour daily limits following severe damage to power infrastructure....
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran is pursuing what he termed a policy of “provincial diplomacy” to promote Iran’s trade ...
Russia launched a wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, prompting nationwide electricity restrictions and ...
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday in Ankara as both countries explored new pathways for bilateral economic relations.
Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Pakistan have received a significant boost in their fight against the impacts of climate change with the approval of a $250 million grant.
The United Nations Security Council is holding open briefings and closed consultations on Sudan following what it called the "dire situation in El Fasher".
Ukraine has introduced nationwide restrictions on electricity use, enforcing eight-hour daily limits following severe damage to power infrastructure.
Nokia announced on Tuesday that chipmaker Nvidia will acquire a $1 billion stake in the company.
The deadliest police operation in Brazil's history killed at least 132 people, officials said on Wednesday, after Rio de Janeiro residents lined a street with dozens of corpses collected overnight, a week ahead of global climate events in the city.
Centrist liberal party D66, led by 38-year-old Rob Jetten, has made sweeping gains in the Dutch election, emerging neck and neck with Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV) in early results — a stunning reversal just two years after D66 ranked sixth.
Reliable sources have confirmed to AnewZ that the United States has asked Azerbaijan to join a Stabilisation Force in Gaza, as part of a proposed international mission to secure the territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with President Xi Jinping to trim tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, Trump said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday in Ankara as both countries explored new pathways for bilateral economic relations.
Ukraine has introduced nationwide restrictions on electricity use, enforcing eight-hour daily limits following severe damage to power infrastructure.
Russia launched a wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, prompting nationwide electricity restrictions and killing one person in the city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said on Thursday.
Israeli forces crossed into southern Lebanon overnight, killing a municipal employee in a border town raid that prompted Lebanon’s president to order the army to confront any future incursions, state media said on Thursday.
APEC countries are close to agreeing a joint trade declaration at their annual summit in South Korea, the host’s foreign minister has said, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s early exit.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment