The UN has assessed the damage from fraudulent networks in Asia at $114 billion, along with a new criminal economy.
The scale of organized online fraud in East and Southeast Asia, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, reached astronomical figures of $88.3–114.1 billion in 2025. These are not just numbers — they are an indicator of a systemic transformation of the criminal landscape, which I, as an analyst, have been observing for several years. The data is based on a comprehensive analysis that accounts for both official losses and latent crime, where victims do not report to authorities.
For context: in 2023, similar losses were estimated at $18–37 billion. A roughly threefold increase in two years is not a coincidence, but the result of criminal groups consolidating into a single cross-border network. Among the countries with the highest recorded losses in 2024–2025, China ($5.1 billion), the Republic of Korea ($3.5 billion), and Taiwan ($2.8 billion) lead the way.
Criminal Economy as Corporate Franchising
What is happening is a restructuring of the regional criminal economy. Disparate syndicates have turned into an interconnected network with a shared infrastructure for fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, and illegal migrant smuggling. The model resembles corporate franchising: specialized "departments" for money laundering, human trafficking, and data collection are connected to a single service network. The scale and complexity of this criminal economy already outpace existing countermeasures.
A significant portion of operations is based in scam centers — isolated compounds where people are detained and forced to work in investment and romance scams. This is not just fraud, but a modern form of slavery integrated into the digital economy.
Cryptocurrencies as a Settlement Infrastructure
A key role in these schemes is assigned to cryptocurrencies, especially USDT on the TRON network. This combination has created a parallel financial system for nearly instant, cheap, and pseudonymous cross-border transfers. Through P2P platforms and underground banking networks, criminals convert fiat into stablecoins and back, bypassing bank controls. Without blocking this channel, any efforts to combat fraud will be largely ineffective.
AI and Satellite Communications: New Tools for Scammers
Criminal groups actively use generative AI, deepfakes, and encrypted messengers. Generative AI lowers the barrier for complex attacks: small groups can now use AI translation, voice cloning, and real-time deepfake video. Additionally, a 42% year-over-year increase in the use of legitimate advertising networks to distribute malware has been recorded. Satellite internet, including Starlink, allows perpetrators to operate in remote areas, reducing dependence on local operators.
Global Recruitment and Network Resilience
People from at least 80 countries have been identified in scam compounds. Operators are expanding their search for employees beyond Asia, requiring knowledge of German, Polish, Spanish, and other languages. This shows that the geography of recruitment extends far beyond the region.
My conclusion: Forceful pressure on individual sites does not destroy the infrastructure — networks change jurisdictions and recover through new nodes. As long as cryptocurrencies remain the primary means of settlement and law enforcement is not trained to track them, this criminal economy will only grow. Simply disrupting operations is insufficient — it is necessary to cut off financial flows.