Why are scammers still thriving in Southeast Asia?

A recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated that Asian crime networks are continuing to expand their multibillion-dollar cyber scam industry.

According to Benedikt Hofmann, the UNODC regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, these crime syndicates are constantly evolving.

"This is organised crime with a really high degree of sophistication and the continued adoption of new technology," Hofmann told DW. "The industry is growing and becoming more complex almost on a daily basis."

Earlier this year, authorities in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos all moved against large-scale scam centers, mostly located in border regions. They shut down multiple sites and freed thousands of human trafficking victims who had been duped into traveling to these areas and then forced to work as scammers.

Despite these high-profile crackdowns, Hofmann said many operations were simply relocated to other, more secluded, parts of the Mekong region.

Crime networks steal billions upon billions every year

The cyber scam industry in Southeast Asia grew out of the massive Chinese offshore gambling syndicates. This means offenders rely on preexisting criminal infrastructure, which includes established patterns of bribes for government officials and routines for money laundering.

According to Jason Tower, who at the time of the interview was the country director for the Burma program of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), these criminal networks have recently shifted to more complex scams. For example, in a process colloquially known as "pig butchering," fraudsters build trust, often through romantic relationships, and then lure their victims into fake cryptocurrency investments and other investment schemes.

"Such crimes are so complicated and transnational in nature that law enforcement needs to be able to work across borders if they want to be successful in cracking down on it," said Tower. "Unfortunately, a lot of countries, including even the US and in Europe, are still trying to understand the problem."

A USIP report estimates that cyber scamming operations in Mekong countries likely generate as much as $44 billion (€39.3 billion) a year — nearly 40% of the combined formal GDP of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Tower warned that "billions and billions of dollars" are going into the pockets of criminals "who are undermining governments and driving conflict in places like Myanmar," a country ripped apart by civil war.

Singapore takes a stand against scammers

One nation that appears to be standing up to cyber scams is Singapore. Over the past couple of years, the city-state has lost billions to scammers. It has since passed laws meant to protect citizens and make it easier to track and cancel fraudulent bank transactions and pursue offenders.

Singapore is one of the wealthiest and most digitally connected countries in Asia, making it an especially tempting target for criminal networks. Also, Singaporeans mostly speak Mandarin Chinese and English, which are also two of the main languages spoken by scammers.

"In Singapore, everything is digital," said Allison Pytlak, senior fellow and director of the cyber program at the Stimson Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution that focuses on international security and peace. "This has made them more at risk of scams but also means that they have more options available to try and protect their citizens from scams."

The island nation has now implemented protective measures such as awareness campaigns, police hot lines and even an app that protects users from scam calls.

"The government will continue to respond aggressively to this challenge," Sun Xueling, Singapore's minister of Home Affairs and Social and Family Development, pledged in parliament in March.

She also warned the lawmakers that the criminals were "well-resourced, adept at using technology, and constantly evolving their tactics to evade our defences."

UN pushing for cross-border cooperation

The UNODC has been working with governments and law enforcement agencies in the region on multilateral initiatives that include joint operations, intelligence sharing and capacity-building programs.

"In the past, countries in the region did not see [scam centers] as a shared priority," said UN official Hofmann. "This is changing."

At a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in January, leaders promised action and listed cybercrimes and online scams as major threats alongside human trafficking, drugs and money laundering.

But Pytlak from the Stimson Center warned that ASEAN is merely "a cooperation bloc with countries having autonomy under it."

"This means that the bloc has little influence over issues related to scam centers, mainly jurisdiction or law enforcement," she said.

On a more positive note, Pytlak added that there is a growing interest in the US and Canada to cooperate with countries in Southeast Asia against scamming syndicates, as many victims of online scams live in Western countries.

Ole Tangen Jr is a DW reporter and editor based in Bonn.

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on DW, and is published by special syndication arrangement.