Sophisticated cyber-tools, artificial intelligence, and impersonation techniques are being employed by scammers operating from centers across Southeast Asia, defrauding victims of billions of dollars. In 2024 alone, the United States reported losses amounting to $10 billion from scam operations based in the region.
Victims of these scams are located worldwide and often include highly educated individuals. Kim Sawyer, a former university professor from Melbourne, described a scammer as “extraordinarily believable,” noting their British accent, use of financial market terminology, and ability to appear credible.
Global Partnerships Combatting Organized Fraud
In response to the increasingly global nature of these scams, international cooperation is strengthening. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL convened the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, Austria, bringing together governments, law enforcement agencies, private companies, and civil society. The summit’s mandate includes fostering closer collaboration through shared intelligence, joint investigations, and streamlined cross-border prosecutions.
Further strengthening these efforts, representatives from nearly 60 countries, alongside tech giants Meta and TikTok, launched the Global Partnership Against Online Scams in Bangkok, Thailand, last December. These conferences mark a significant diplomatic turning point for international cooperation against scam centers.
However, the entrenched criminal infrastructure in Southeast Asia that fuels these fraudulent activities maintains a global reach.
A Comprehensive Criminal Ecosystem at Work
These operations extend beyond mere fraud, encompassing money laundering, malware development and deployment, and the weaponization of artificial intelligence (AI) for deepfakes and voice cloning. Cybercrime capabilities are also sold as services within these networks.
Recent raids in the Philippines and Cambodia reveal that individual scam centers are often small components of a larger, interconnected crime infrastructure generating billions in illicit financial flows. This represents organized crime at scale, with fraud operations serving as the visible layer of a deeper ecosystem involving corruption, human trafficking, and transnational money laundering.
Delphine Schantz, UNODC’s regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, emphasized the need to prosecute high-level criminals, trace funds through financial investigations, and identify the extensive networks behind these operations. She stated, “The complexity of these crimes requires an equally complex, whole-of-government approach and enhanced coordination among governments, financial intelligence units and digital banks.”
On-the-Ground Responses and International Support
Philippines: UNODC officials and investigators have visited former scam centers in Manila, observing the remnants of operations once orchestrated near government offices and foreign embassies. Some rooms within these converted compounds, now housing the Philippines’ Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC), remain in their original state, including entertainment areas and a torture chamber used for punishing workers who failed to meet quotas. Logbooks from these areas indicated that politicians, municipal officials, and police officers were entertained as guests, highlighting the corruption that facilitated these operations.
PAOCC’s operations director noted the difficulty in proving cybercrimes within short legal deadlines. UNODC is assisting countries in the region by enhancing capacities for gathering, analyzing, and sharing electronic evidence; disrupting underground banking and casino systems used by criminal groups; and improving cooperation to prevent human trafficking into scam centers.
In the Philippines, UNODC is supporting PAOCC and other agencies in developing victim-centered response procedures, including victim identification and repatriation, evidence collection, and perpetrator apprehension. UNODC is also collaborating on a national strategy against transnational organized crime.
Cambodia: Prosecutors, investigators, and central authorities from various countries, accompanied by UNODC officials, visited a raided scam center in Phnom Penh. Discussions focused on mutual legal assistance, extradition, asset recovery, and digital evidence handling. This visit coincided with Cambodia’s establishment of the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS), a high-level body chaired by the Prime Minister, tasked with coordinating efforts against online scams.
Implementing a Coordinated Global Response to Fraud
Despite increased attention and law enforcement actions, scam centers continue to operate, often relocating after raids. Governments are working to counter this crime, but victims continue to suffer billions in losses. The Global Fraud Summit addressed the challenge of translating political will into tangible, long-term impact, with global leaders discussing priorities and solutions. Officials stress that the next phase requires operational follow-through, including joint cross-border operations, coordinated prosecutions, and real-time intelligence sharing.
Victims like Kim Sawyer express feeling let down by the response from banks and governments. “The scammer works twice: they take your money and they take your soul. They really do. They take your self-worth. And then, you feel like you’re being scammed again, by authorities’ lack of response,” Sawyer stated. He hopes that increased international cooperation and global attention will lead to more effective responses for victims, drawing on successful strategies implemented in other countries.
