UN says Southeast Asia scam networks caused up to $114B in 2025 losses
UNODC says tech-enabled crime groups in Southeast Asia now share fraud, trafficking and laundering systems across borders.
By Dev Ramirez · Crypto Correspondent
· 3 min read
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says scam networks tied to Southeast Asia and the wider region cost victims an estimated $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in 2025. For crypto users, the warning is direct: the agency says a large share of the damage came from crypto investment fraud run through industrial-scale compounds.
In a report published Tuesday, UNODC said the region’s criminal groups have changed how they operate. The agency described a shift away from smaller, locally based syndicates toward cross-border networks that share tools, workers and financial channels.
That structure makes the scams harder to stop. According to UNODC, groups now sell one another services including online fraud, money laundering, human trafficking and data harvesting. Money laundering means hiding where criminal proceeds came from so they can be moved, spent or reinvested with less scrutiny.
How the scam economy works
UNODC said the region’s scam operations are no longer separate criminal projects. They now function more like a market for illegal services, with different groups providing pieces of the operation to others.
One group may run the fraud script, another may control workers, another may provide stolen or harvested personal data, and another may handle the money after victims send funds. In crypto scams, that money can move through digital wallets, exchanges or other channels before law enforcement can freeze it.
The agency said technology is helping reshape transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia. Monica Juma, who posted about the UNODC threat assessment on X, said the report shows that cyber scams, synthetic drug production and trafficking in persons are being transformed by new technology.
The report also links the scam industry to human trafficking. UNODC said fraud operations have been run from large compounds, where victims of trafficking can be forced to carry out online scams targeting people elsewhere.
Why police are being urged to change tactics
UNODC said law enforcement strategies focused mainly on disrupting individual operations are not working against a system built on shared infrastructure. If one site is raided or one channel is interrupted, other parts of the network can keep operating, according to the agency’s assessment.
The agency called for regional police to receive specialized training in crypto investigations. Crypto tracing is the process of following transactions on public blockchains, the digital ledgers that record transfers for many tokens. The goal is to identify where stolen funds go and seize proceeds when possible.
For everyday investors, the report is another reminder that crypto fraud has become a large, organized business rather than a collection of isolated scams. UNODC’s estimate puts annual losses in the tens of billions of dollars, with the top end reaching $114.1 billion across the wider region in 2025.
The agency’s message to governments was clear: criminal groups have built a connected system, and police need tools that match how that system moves money, recruits people and targets victims across borders.
This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.
