Southeast Asian cyber fraud industry at ‘inflection point’ as it expands globally

The international community has reached a “critical inflection point” in the fight to contain Southeast Asia’s cyber fraud industry as it continues to metastasize into a global behemoth, the United Nations warned Monday. 

Despite China- and Thailand-led crackdowns on scam compounds in Myanmar, the organized crime groups behind the industry are growing increasingly professional and deepening ties with other regions and illicit actors. 

In February, Thai authorities cut off the power supply to several border areas of Myanmar where massive office buildings have sprung up to house workers who are often trafficked and forced to conduct so-called pig butchering scams. This type of fraud typically involves gaining the trust of victims over a long period of time, then deceiving them to invest cryptocurrency or other assets into a fraudulent scheme. 

Read more at The Record