UN warns of global spread of billion-dollar cyberscam industry

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised alarms over the rapid expansion of the billion-dollar cyberscam industry, likening its spread to a “cancer” that is moving beyond Southeast Asia into South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Despite intensified crackdowns in countries like Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, criminal syndicates have adapted, shifting operations to regions with weak governance and high corruption, according to a new UN report.

Originally concentrated in Southeast Asia, cyberscam networks have evolved into highly mobile operations, relocating to remote and underregulated areas to evade law enforcement.