Gairika Mitra
Asian organized crime groups are reportedly converging and leveraging malware, generative artificial intelligence (AI), and deepfakes to expand their reach and increase their gains. Such a trend was shared on Monday in a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The report, titled “Transnational Organized Crime and the Convergence of Cyber-Enabled Fraud, Underground Banking, and Technological Innovation: A Shifting Threat Landscape,” details how criminal organizations are using advanced technologies to disguise their activities, launder money, and evade law enforcement.
“Organized crime groups are converging and exploiting vulnerabilities, and the evolving situation is rapidly outpacing governments’ capacity to contain it,” said Masood Karimipour, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
“Leveraging technological advances, criminal groups are producing larger scale and harder to detect fraud, money laundering, underground banking and online scams. This has led to the creation of a criminal service economy, and the region has now emerged as a key testing ground for transnational criminal networks. They are looking to expand their influence and diversify into new business lines,” he added.
The report sheds also light on several cases in which Asian crime syndicates are exploit technology. For instance:
- Illegal online casino operators are diversifying their businesses to include cyber-enabled fraud and crypto-based money laundering services.
- Underregulated gambling platforms and VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) are being used to move criminal proceeds.
- Human trafficking rings for forced criminality are using fake job adverts to recruit victims into illegal scam compounds.
- AI-driven crimes involving deepfakes are on the rise, demonstrating a significant increase in mentions of such content targeting criminal groups.
Crypto Scams a Favorite of Asian Crime Groups
The UNODC report also highlights how illegal online casino operators have diversified business lines to include cyber-enabled fraud. It shows how organized Asian crime groups use influence within casino compounds, special economic zones, and border areas to conceal illicit activities.
“It is more critical than ever for governments to recognize the severity, scale and reach of this truly global threat, and to prioritize solutions that address the rapidly evolving criminal ecosystem in the region,” Karimipour said.
The Shib Daily reported previously that South Korean prosecutors charged a group of suspected fraudsters who allegedly impersonated regulators to swindle victims out of $22.7 million.
The scammers reportedly set up fake trading platforms, such as BISSNEX and BDCDP and then used YouTube channels and the Naver Band chat app to lure investors in. Once victims were signed on, the group then sent fake letters, posing as official correspondence from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Korean National Police Agency.
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- Prosecutors Charge South Korean Group in $22.7M Crypto Fraud
Gairika holds positions in BTC. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
