Online scams cost victims up to $114 billion across Asia-Pacific, UN warns

Tuesday 21 July 2026 - 09:15

By: Sahili Aya

Online scams cost victims up to $114 billion across Asia-Pacific, UN warns

Victims of online scams across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand lost an estimated $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion last year, according to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), highlighting the rapid expansion of cyber-enabled organized crime in the region.

The findings show a dramatic increase from the estimated $18 billion to $37 billion in losses reported for 2023, illustrating the growing scale and sophistication of transnational fraud networks.

According to the UN agency, criminal organizations operating primarily from parts of Myanmar and Cambodia have transformed sections of Southeast Asia into major hubs for online fraud. These networks carry out a wide range of scams, including fake cryptocurrency investment schemes, romance fraud, and other financial deception campaigns targeting victims around the world.

The report also highlights the role of human trafficking in sustaining these operations. While some individuals participate voluntarily, many others are allegedly forced to work in scam compounds after being trafficked across borders under false promises of legitimate employment.

International pressure has intensified in recent years, with governments including the United States, the United Kingdom, and China urging stronger regional action against cybercrime syndicates. Authorities have responded with arrests, sanctions and extraditions targeting individuals suspected of directing large-scale fraud operations.

Despite these efforts, the UNODC warns that criminal groups have become increasingly adaptable and technologically advanced. Rather than operating as isolated organizations, they now function through interconnected international networks that combine expertise in money laundering, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and illicit data collection.

UN officials describe these organizations as operating under a business model resembling a franchise system, with specialized units providing services across multiple criminal markets while sharing infrastructure and resources.

The report identifies China, South Korea, and Taiwan among the jurisdictions most heavily affected over the past two years, although victims are increasingly located worldwide as fraud networks expand beyond their original Chinese-speaking targets.

The UNODC concludes that tackling online fraud will require closer international cooperation, stronger law enforcement coordination and enhanced efforts to dismantle the financial and technological infrastructure that enables global cybercrime operations.