Cyberscam industry continues to thrive as raids fail to contain worldwide spread

Date:
Tue, 22 Apr 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Description:
The cyberscam industry is worth billions, and is continue to grow to new countries.

FULL STORY

Despite governments and law enforcement agencies in the Southeast Asian
region trying their best to contain the threat, the scam industry is
thriving, taking advantage of the fact that there are many remote,
inaccessible regions, and many impoverished, undereducated people to abuse.

This is according to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). As reported by Cybernews, UNODC said the scam industry is a multibillion-dollar one and its expanding globally to include South America
and Africa.

It originated in Southeast Asia, where there are hundreds of large-scale
farms, housing tens of thousands of workers. Some of these people were even trafficked and forced to work in these scam farms. These farms are generating tens of billions of dollars in annual profits, the UNODC said.

Governments of Southeast Asian countries, such as China, Thailand, Myanmar,
and many others, are persistently trying to disrupt these activities, but theyre apparently not achieving much, since the groups can simply pick up and move elsewhere.

It spreads like a cancer, said Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Authorities treat it in
one area, but the roots never disappear; they simply migrate.

The regional cyberfraud industry... has outpaced other transnational crimes, given that it is easily scalable and able to reach millions of potential victims online, with no need to move or traffic illicit goods across borders, said John Wojcik, a regional analyst with UNODC.

The report mentions crackdowns in lawless areas of the Thai-Myanmar border, Cambodia, and elsewhere. The criminals would simply migrate to Laos, Myanmar, and other most remote, vulnerable, and underprepared parts of Southeast Asia.

The money stolen through fraud still needs to be laundered, which is why
these groups are expanding into Africa and South America, where theyre partnering up with drug cartels. UNODC says operations are being established
in Zambia, Angola, and Namibia, but also in Eastern European countries such
as Georgia.

Via Cybernews

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/cyberscam-industry-continues-to-thrive- as-raids-fail-to-contain-worldwide-spread

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