Cyber-scams: UN warns of a new global scourge

An underground economy is exploding: cyber-scams run by Asian crime syndicates. In a report published on Monday, the UN speaks of a global turning point.

These fraud centers, once concentrated in Southeast Asia, are now exporting to Latin America and Africa. Nigeria is singled out as a central base on the continent. In Zambia and Angola, networks headed by Asian nationals have been dismantled, combining crypto-currency scams, sentimental fraud and human trafficking.

The phenomenon is massive: the UN estimates that these activities generate nearly 40 billion dollars a year. Fraud facilitated by the latest technological innovations: malware, artificial intelligence, deepfake videos… criminals have a formidable digital arsenal at their disposal.

But behind the screens, there are faces. At the end of 2023, 40 Malaysian victims of trafficking were freed in Peru. They had been forced to commit online scams on behalf of a gang based in Taiwan.

The evidence is clear: these networks move to places where states are fragile and laws are poorly enforced. And the line between cybercrime and modern-day slavery is becoming increasingly blurred. For the UN, there is an urgent need for international cooperation in the face of this now globalized criminal model.

source: africanews