Asia's Criminal Economy: Damage from Scam Networks Reaches $114 Billion in 2025, with Cryptocurrencies Becoming Its Financial Backbone
The scale of organized online fraud in East and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, is estimated to range between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion for 2025. This is based on an analysis conducted using official data and estimates of unrecorded losses. The methodology accounts for both registered incidents and the presumed share of victims who, for various reasons, do not contact law enforcement.
To understand the dynamics: in 2023, similar losses for the same subregions ranged from $18 billion to $37 billion. Thus, over two years, the volume of damage has approximately tripled, indicating the rapid institutionalization of the criminal sector.
From fragmented groups to a cross-border "franchise"
A fundamental restructuring of the regional criminal economy has occurred. Individual syndicates have merged into a single network with shared infrastructure, including services for money laundering, human trafficking, illegal migration, data collection, and fraud itself. According to experts, this model resembles corporate franchising, where each "department" provides services to the entire network.
The key element has become so-called scam centers — large, isolated complexes where people are detained and forced to participate in investment and romance scams. The scale and complexity of this criminal economy already outpace existing countermeasures.
Cryptocurrencies: a new financial system for the criminal underworld
The report specifically highlights the role of cryptocurrencies, especially the USDT stablecoin on the TRON blockchain. This combination has essentially created a parallel financial system for nearly instantaneous, cheap, and pseudonymous cross-border transfers. Criminal groups actively use P2P platforms, over-the-counter brokers, and underground banking networks to convert fiat money into stablecoins and back, effectively bypassing bank controls.
Simply disrupting operations without confiscating proceeds, according to experts, is ineffective. It is necessary to train law enforcement agencies in modern methods of tracking and seizing digital assets.
AI, satellites, and global recruitment
Criminal networks are actively adopting technologies: generative AI for creating deepfakes and phishing texts, encrypted messengers, satellite communications (including Starlink) for operating in remote areas, and legitimate advertising networks for spreading malware. The use of the latter has increased by 42% over the year.
The geography of recruitment has extended far beyond Asia. Job postings related to scam centers require native speakers of German, Polish, French, Spanish, and other European languages. This indicates that potential victims and employees can come from anywhere in the world.
My analysis: The figure of $114 billion is just the tip of the iceberg. The real damage is likely significantly higher, given that many victims do not report crimes due to shame or fear. But the main conclusion is not the amount, but that we are witnessing the formation of a full-fledged criminal "platform economy" based on cryptocurrencies. While regulators try to shut down individual scam centers, the network will migrate to new jurisdictions, using decentralized financial instruments. Combating this phenomenon requires not only law enforcement methods but also global coordination in the regulation of cryptocurrencies and cybersecurity.