Criminal networks using AI caused $88 billion in scam losses across Asia-Pacific, UN reveals

Criminal Networks Deploy AI to Build $88 Billion Scam Empire

Southeast Asia-based criminal groups defrauded Asia-Pacific residents of between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion in 2025, according to a UNODC report released Tuesday1

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. The losses from scams represent a figure larger than the GDP of several nations in the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting the staggering scale of transnational crime operations that now leverage artificial intelligence to target victims worldwide2

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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that criminal networks in Southeast Asia, an epicenter for cyberfraud by mostly Chinese groups, are rapidly evolving tactics to stay ahead of law enforcement1

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. These syndicates are outpacing crackdowns by diversifying revenue streams, exploiting weak governance, and harnessing both generative AI and more advanced agentic AI systems to automate their operations.

Corporate-Style Operations Fuel Global Illicit Economy

Delphine Schantz, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, described how these operations function with sophisticated coordination. "Their operating model looks like corporate franchising: imagine specialized departments for laundering money, trafficking people, smuggling migrants, and harvesting data, all plugged into the same, service-based interconnected network," she explained1

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The report outlines how cross-border financial and technology networks support what it calls a "criminal service infrastructure" that facilitates the global illicit economy3

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. Tools include cryptocurrency for money laundering, encrypted communications platforms, and generative AI to create convincing phishing scams, deploy real-time deepfakes, and voice calls. Using AI-powered translations, criminal networks can target victims across many languages simultaneously2

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Agentic AI Represents Next Evolution in Financial Fraud

Beyond current uses of generative AI to create content, the UNODC report warns that criminal groups are expected to adopt agentic AI systems to more autonomously identify victims, conduct social-engineering campaigns, and facilitate cryptocurrency theft and laundering5

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. This technological leap could enable scam operations to scale dramatically while requiring less human oversight.

Scam compounds scattered across Southeast Asia operate illegal online schemes that defraud people worldwide while generating billions of dollars of annual revenue1

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. Many facilities are staffed by trafficked foreign nationals confined in oppressive environments, with people from at least 80 countries and territories identified in these operations across the region.

Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Surge

The UNODC report identifies alarming trends in human trafficking linked to these operations. Scam operators are increasingly seeking recruits from outside Asia as they expand into new markets, with recruitment advertisements targeting people with German, Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish, Norwegian, and English language skills1

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One key finding reveals the threat to children from both AI and online gaming. "There is a huge jump in AI-generated child sexual abuse content communicated through encrypted communications platforms," said Inshik Sim, UNODC researcher and coordinator for the report2

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. East Asian crime syndicates are running businesses that use malware, generative AI, and deepfakes for sexual extortion and exploitation.

Law Enforcement Crackdowns Drive Operations Underground

Recent pressure from law enforcement in the region has displaced but not dismantled operations, with gangs relocating from countries like Myanmar and Laos to East Timor, Pacific Island states, and parts of Africa1

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. Syndicates engage in "jurisdiction shopping" to find places with weak governance and regulation, with corruption identified as the "primary enabler" of tech-driven organized crime in the region.

"They were destroyed, but none of the operations stopped," said Seong Jae Shin, an analyst at the UNODC, describing how scam centers moved to villas and other properties after raids by authorities in Thailand, China, and elsewhere3

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. "It's much harder for the Cambodian authorities to crack down now."

Drug Trafficking and Wildlife Smuggling Expand Alongside Scams

The UNODC report estimates combined annual sales of illicit drugs in Southeast Asia and nearby countries at up to $109 billion, with seizures of methamphetamines, heroin, and ketamine soaring2

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. The Sulu-Celebes maritime triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines has become an increasingly important corridor for cocaine shipments from Latin America to Asia, with illicit cargoes sometimes embedded in legitimate shipments such as Chinese tea. The area is also frequently used for wildlife smuggling and small arms trafficking.

Earlier this year, authorities in Malaysia's Sabah seized more than 3 tons of methamphetamine, ketamine, and ecstasy in the largest such seizure for Sabah to date3

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. Meanwhile, Thailand and Vietnam increasingly serve as sources of cannabis sent to Japan and Europe.

Coordinated Response Required to Counter Sophisticated Threats

"The scale and complexity of this expanding organized crime economy are outpacing existing responses, which were not structured to address such sophisticated criminal activity," said Inshik Sim, a lead analyst at UNODC5

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. To counter this growing criminal ecosystem, authorities need a coordinated cross-border strategy that integrates enforcement across data, communications and financial systems, and online services and marketplaces, the report concluded4

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