The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised alarm over the global expansion of cybercrime syndicates originally based in parts of Southeast Asia, now rapidly infiltrating regions in Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.
In a report released Monday, the UN agency warned that despite regional crackdowns, the cyberfraud industry has evolved into a global enterprise—more sophisticated, resilient, and difficult to dismantle.
Transnational crime networks initially concentrated in countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are now running massive operations involving thousands of trafficked individuals forced to carry out online scams. These include romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and other schemes targeting victims worldwide.
“These operations have become a sophisticated global industry. It spreads like a cancer. Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots never disappear—they simply migrate,” said John Wojcik, a regional analyst for the UNODC.
A hallmark of these syndicates is their rapid diversification and expansion of labour. According to the UNODC, they now recruit from over 50 countries—including Nigeria, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan—reflecting the global nature of both their workforce and their victims.
The report noted that scam compounds are strategically built to resemble corporate campuses, housing tens of thousands of trafficked workers coerced into fraud operations. UNODC estimates that hundreds of such compounds are generating tens of billions of dollars annually.
In 2023 alone, the United States reported over $5.6 billion in losses due to cryptocurrency scams, including over $4 million from “pig-butchering” or romance scams that often prey on elderly and vulnerable individuals.
Despite recent crackdowns led by authorities in China, Thailand, and Myanmar—including cutting off power and internet access to known scam hubs—syndicates have adapted by relocating to under-policed and corruption-prone regions.
The UNODC highlighted that raids in parts of Cambodia have pushed operations further into remote provinces like Koh Kong and areas along the Thai-Vietnamese border. Similarly, Myanmar continues to serve as a major hub for cyberfraud operations amid ongoing internal conflict and weak governance.
The agency also reported that criminal syndicates are establishing new bases in South America—seeking financial partnerships with drug cartels—and across Africa, including Zambia, Angola, and Namibia. Eastern European countries like Georgia have also become targets for expansion.
In a recent operation, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 792 individuals for alleged involvement in cyberfraud schemes. Among the arrested were 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two from Kazakhstan, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian.
According to the EFCC, these foreign nationals were operating from a Lagos-based facility designed to resemble a legitimate financial institution, where they trained Nigerian recruits to carry out investment and romance scams.
The EFCC noted that the identities of local accomplices were often used to mask the operations of their international recruiters, further complicating enforcement efforts.
UNODC concluded by urging stronger international cooperation to disrupt the financial flows that support these criminal networks, stressing the importance of addressing not only the fraud but also the underlying issues of trafficking and exploitation.
