Transnational organised crime groups associated with East and Southeast Asia have extended scam operations to new regions in response to law-enforcement pressure, according to a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
For years, large scam compounds proliferated in Southeast Asia, particularly in border areas of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as in the Philippines. Operators shifted between locations in an effort to stay ahead of police action.
The operations use false romantic approaches, fabricated investment opportunities and illegal gambling schemes to extract money from victims. Reports cited by the UN agency indicate that connected centres and services have appeared in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, the Middle East and parts of the Pacific.
A connected criminal industry
The UNODC report, titled “Inflection Point,” considers the global implications of scam centres, underground banking and illicit online marketplaces rooted in Southeast Asia.
- Industrial-scale scam compounds and recruitment networks
- Trafficking and coercion of people made to conduct fraud
- Money laundering and underground financial services
- Stolen data, malware, artificial intelligence and deepfakes
Expansion beyond Southeast Asia
The report describes expansion into places where limited enforcement capacity and remote locations can make criminal activity difficult to detect. It says this reflects both the growth of the industry and an effort to reduce the risk created by continued disruption in Southeast Asia.
Enforcement cases have identified Asian-led scam operations and associated money-laundering, trafficking and recruitment services in multiple regions. Nigeria emerged as one focus of concern after police raids in late 2024 and early 2025 led to arrests connected with suspected cryptocurrency and romance scams. Authorities in Zambia and Angola also disrupted cyberfraud operations with links to Asian networks.
In Latin America, the report highlights Brazil’s challenges involving cyber-enabled fraud, online gambling and related money laundering, including links to criminal groups operating in Southeast Asia. It also recounts the 2023 rescue in Peru of more than 40 Malaysians who had been trafficked and forced to conduct online fraud.
“The convergence between the acceleration and professionalization of these operations ... and their geographical expansion ... translates into a new intensity in the industry.”UNODC regional representative, quoted in the report’s release
Technology lowers barriers
New illicit marketplaces, stolen-data products, malware, automated tools and deepfake technology make it easier for criminal groups to offer specialised services. This “crime as a service” model allows operators to buy capabilities rather than build every part of a scam themselves.
That structure also helps networks adapt. A disrupted compound does not necessarily end the underlying activity when recruitment, money movement, account access and technical tools are supplied by separate groups across different countries.
Coercion is part of the story
Not everyone inside a scam centre is a willing participant. Trafficking networks may recruit people with deceptive job offers, transport them across borders and compel them to conduct fraud under threats or confinement. Effective responses therefore need to distinguish organisers from people who may themselves be victims.
The UN assessment presents the expansion as a challenge requiring cooperation among governments. Enforcement must address not only the visible compounds but also the financial, technological and recruitment systems that allow them to move and re-form.
