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Vast criminal networks have made billions through online fraud in Asia and are now expanding their operations to Europe, Africa, South America and beyond. That's why the UN is calling for international cooperation.
The UN warns that Asian crime networks that control the internet fraud industry and generate billions of dollars in profits are expanding their operations worldwide. The UN report says that official measures being taken by various countries in Southeast Asia are failing to curb these criminal organizations.
The UN report says that Chinese and Southeast Asian gangs lure victims with promises of investments, cryptocurrency profits, romances and other scams.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), cyber fraud has now become a sophisticated global industry. Gangs operate numerous dormitories housing tens of thousands of workers, mostly trafficked, who they force to defraud other people over the internet.
International cooperation is needed to combat criminal groups.
"This type of crime is spreading like a cancer. Authorities crack down on it in one area, but its roots never disappear; they simply migrate from one place to another," says Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC's Regional Representative for South-East Asia and the Pacific.
UNODC says criminal networks are expanding their operations from Asia to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and even some Pacific islands.
According to the UNODC report, in 2023, criminal groups made about $37 billion (32.5 billion euros) in East and Southeast Asian countries through cyber fraud, while in the US more than $5.6 billion (4.9 billion euros).
The UNODC urged the international community to act, saying the situation had now reached a "critical turning point." According to the UN, failure to take joint action against these gangs would have "unprecedented consequences for Southeast Asia that could have global implications."/ DW
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