In 2025, losses from scam operations in East and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand totaled $88.3–$114.1 billion, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its report.
The authors stressed that this is an approximate estimate. The methodology accounts for officially recorded losses and an assumed share of victims who do not report to authorities. Country data may differ in how scam schemes are classified.
For comparison, losses from scams in East and Southeast Asia were estimated at $18–$37 billion in 2023. According to UNODC, the 2025 figure for these same subregions was roughly three times higher.
Among countries and territories with the largest officially recorded losses in 2024–2025, the report listed China ($5.1 billion), the Republic of Korea ($3.5 billion) and Taiwan ($2.8 billion).
Criminal groups consolidate infrastructure
UNODC described the situation as a restructuring of the regional criminal economy. In its assessment, scattered syndicates have become a cross-border network with shared infrastructure for fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, data collection and criminal services.
Delphine Schantz, UNODC’s regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, compared this model to corporate franchising.
“[…] imagine specialized departments for money laundering, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and data collection, connected to a single interconnected service network,” she said.
UNODC lead analyst Inshik Sim said the scale and complexity of this criminal economy “outpace existing responses.”
A significant share of operations is tied to scam compounds—large, isolated complexes where people are held and forced to work in online fraud schemes, including investment and romance scams.
Cryptocurrencies as settlement infrastructure
The report highlights the role of cryptocurrencies in payments and money laundering. According to UNODC, criminal groups systematically use digital assets, encrypted communications, AI, satellite links and underground data markets to reduce risks and expand operations.
The office specifically points to USDT on the TRON network. According to the authors, this combination has created a parallel financial system for near-instant, low-cost and pseudonymous cross-border transfers. Through P2P platforms, over-the-counter brokers and underground banking networks, criminal groups convert fiat into stablecoins and back. Such services help bypass bank controls and move funds across jurisdictions.
UNODC called for training law enforcement to trace and seize crypto assets. Schantz said disrupting operations alone is insufficient if the criminal networks’ proceeds remain out of reach.
AI and satellite communications have strengthened scam networks
UNODC said criminal groups actively use generative AI, deepfakes, encrypted messengers, satellite communications and data markets. These tools help scale attacks, bypass checks and operate in remote areas.
Generative artificial intelligence lowers the technical bar for complex fraud schemes. The report says small groups can use AI translation, character generation, phishing texts, voice cloning and real-time deepfake video.
UNODC also recorded a 42% year-on-year increase in 2025 in the use of legitimate ad networks to distribute malware or phishing pages.
The office also mentioned satellite internet, including Starlink. In UNODC’s view, this lawful infrastructure allows offenders to depend less on local telecom operators and operate in hard-to-reach areas.
Recruiters seek people beyond Asia
Scam compounds in the region included people from at least 80 countries and territories. Recruitment networks use transit hubs in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
UNODC noted that operators are expanding the search for staff and victims beyond the region. Job ads allegedly linked to scam centers included requirements for German, Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish, Norwegian and English.
The report specifies that such ads should not be treated as confirmed cases of human trafficking. They indicate broader recruitment and the risk that new workers could end up in forced criminal activity.
UNODC also notes that law enforcement pressure on individual platforms does not eliminate the infrastructure. Networks change jurisdictions, split operations and restore activity through new nodes.
In June, the U.S. Department of Justice said it had seized a cloud account used by entities associated with Huione Group to host services related to transferring and laundering funds from crypto scams.
Earlier, the UN pointed to the use of USDT in romance scams and illegal online casinos in Southeast Asia.
