Online fraud operations in Southeast Asia continue to grow, with organized scamming syndicates netting an estimated $64 billion each year worldwide, according to new research.
In Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, the criminal groups are stealing about $43.8 billion each year through scams - some 40 percent of the three nations' combined formal GDP - according to a report released Monday from the United States Institute of Peace.
The scams typically involve pig butchering, when potential victims are contacted on messaging platforms or dating apps.
The scammers try to develop relationships and eventually convince victims to make fraudulent investments which are siphoned off by criminals.
Last year, such scams resulted in about $3.5 billion in losses in the U.S., while Canadians lost an estimated $413 million and Malaysians more than $750 million, researchers said.
Throughout Southeast Asia, organized crime groups have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people into heavily-guarded compounds - where they are held and forced to conduct the scams under threats of violence.
While the dynamics differ in each country that is home to scam compounds, political corruption is a universal factor that has allowed organized crime to fester.
In Myanmar the junta has allowed government-aligned militias along its border with China and Thailand to set up massive criminal operations.
China recently grew so fed up with its own citizens being trafficked into Myanmar and targeted by scams that it arrested some of the high-level perpetrators and allowed rebels in Myanmar to rout the government-backed militias.
The researchers found, the criminal operations appear to have merely adapted in response to pressure, with scam bases shifting elsewhere in Myanmar and the region.
Christie's takes website offline after cyberattack, delays live auction.
Has worked as a journalist around the world, including in Lebanon and in Cambodia, where he was Deputy Managing Editor of The Phnom Penh Post.
He is also a radio and podcast producer for outlets like Snap Judgment.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Mon, 13 May 2024 21:20:04 +0000