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Trafficking
AI generated Deepfake AI tools China Cyber Security Generative AI Pig Butchering Scamming Trafficking

AI Tools Fueling Global Expansion of China-Linked Trafficking and Scamming Networks

 

A recent report highlights the alarming rise of China-linked human trafficking and scamming networks, now using AI tools to enhance their operations. Initially concentrated in Southeast Asia, these operations trafficked over 200,000 people into compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Victims were forced into cybercrime activities, such as “pig butchering” scams, impersonating law enforcement, and sextortion. Criminals have now expanded globally, incorporating generative AI for multi-language scamming, creating fake profiles, and even using deepfake technology to deceive victims. 

The growing use of these tools allows scammers to target victims more efficiently and execute more sophisticated schemes. One of the most prominent types of scams is the “pig butchering” scheme, where scammers build intimate online relationships with their victims before tricking them into investing in fake opportunities. These scams have reportedly netted criminals around $75 billion. In addition to pig butchering, Southeast Asian criminal networks are involved in various illicit activities, including job scams, phishing attacks, and loan schemes. Their ability to evolve with AI technology, such as using ChatGPT to overcome language barriers, makes them more effective at deceiving victims. 

Generative AI also plays a role in automating phishing attacks, creating fake identities, and writing personalized scripts to target individuals in different regions. Deepfake technology, which allows real-time face-swapping during video calls, is another tool scammers are using to further convince their victims of their fabricated personas. Criminals now can engage with victims in highly realistic conversations and video interactions, making it much more difficult for victims to discern between real and fake identities. The UN report warns that these technological advancements are lowering the barrier to entry for criminal organizations that may lack advanced technical skills but are now able to participate in lucrative cyber-enabled fraud. 

As scamming compounds continue to operate globally, there has also been an uptick in law enforcement seizing Starlink satellite devices used by scammers to maintain stable internet connections for their operations. The introduction of “crypto drainers,” a type of malware designed to steal funds from cryptocurrency wallets, has also become a growing concern. These drainers mimic legitimate services to trick victims into connecting their wallets, allowing attackers to gain access to their funds.  

As global law enforcement struggles to keep pace with the rapid technological advances used by these networks, the UN has stressed the urgency of addressing this growing issue. Failure to contain these ecosystems could have far-reaching consequences, not only for Southeast Asia but for regions worldwide. AI tools and the expanding infrastructure of scamming operations are creating a perfect storm for criminals, making it increasingly difficult for authorities to combat these crimes effectively. The future of digital scamming will undoubtedly see more AI-powered innovations, raising the stakes for law enforcement globally.
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United Nations
Cyber Fraud Online Scams Organized Crime SE Asia Trafficking UN investigates United Nations

UN Reports: Hundreds of Thousands Coerced into Working in Online Scams


A latest UN investigation reports that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to Southeast Asia to operate online scams.

Apparently, at least 12,000 individuals from Myanmar and another 100,000 Cambodian nationals have been coerced into working on these scams.

While most victims are said to be from Asia, some are from countries in Africa and Latin America. Despite the fact that the issue has long existed, the UN report represents the first thorough examination of its scope.

The investigation suggests that as a result of pandemic-related closures, millions of individuals were forced to stay at home and spend more time online, making them prime targets for those running online fraud schemes.

After luring the less-educated victims into joining the frauds for quick bucks, cybercrime gangs are now targeting victims with a more professional background (often graduates or post-grads).

The report further noted that the places where the victims are primarily targeted and coerced into joining cybercrime come under a jurisdiction where the governance and laws are comparatively weak, with contested authority. "In continuing to call for justice for those who have been defrauded through online criminality, we must not forget that this complex phenomenon has two sets of victims," said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

According to an estimation made by the UN, these scam centres are generating a revenue of whopping billions of US dollars annually. 

Trafficking for Scams

As described by the victims themselves, they were lured into the ‘jobs’ via advertisements that would assure easy work and magnificent perks, finally luring and tricking them into travelling to Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. Once they arrived at their destinations, they were apparently kept hostage and forced into working for online scam centres. The ones who refused to comply were subjected to torture and certain ‘inhuman treatment.’

Some networks also prey on those looking for love romance, in what are known as ‘pig-butchering’ scams. 

In one such tragic incident that occurred last year, a Malaysian man, 25, who had travelled to Bangkok to meet a "girlfriend" with whom he had only communicated online, was killed by torture. 

However, on the contrary, he was trafficked to Myanmar and was forced to work for online scam gangs. In one of his last calls to his parents, he stated he had been beaten up for supposedly fabricating a medical condition. He succumbed to the illness after a month in intensive care. 

According to the UN, existing laws in many Southeast Asian nations frequently fall short of international norms and have "in large part" failed to keep up with the development of internet fraud operations since the pandemic.

Many more cases, according to Pia Oberoi, a senior consultant on migration at the UN Human Rights Office, have gone unreported because the victims experience "stigma and shame" for the task they were forced to perform.

The report further added that a much more appropriate response to the issue should "not merely [involve] addressing organised crime or enforcing border controls, but should provide protection and justice for these victims of trafficking.”

In regards to this, Mr. Türk urged governments to take a firm stance against these criminal networks."All affected states need to summon the political will to strengthen human rights and improve governance and the rule of law, including through serious and sustained efforts to tackle corruption," he said.  

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Trafficking
APG Cyber Crime Illicit Trade Terrorism Trafficking

Terrorists Using Cyber Crime for Funding Since Covid-19


What is Asia Pacific Group Report?

Terrorist groups are actively depending on criminal activities, these include online frauds and cybercrime, scams that fund their illegal activities, as per the annual report of Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering. 

The report also lists case studies from member countries, these include India and Pakistan, it involves money laundering and terrorism finance. 

Cybercrime and terrorism 

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have let terrorists to increase their dependence on trafficking in minerals and precious stones, drug smuggling, scam through electronic means, the trade of counterfeit medicines, and cybercrime. 

The authorities have also found sale of forged vaccination records. The members keep reporting fraud claims for COVID-19 related government subsidies. 

The lockdown and border closures because of COVID-19 led to a rise in the identification of illegal trade related to alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. There has also been a rise in the discovery of large amounts of physical cash linked to the crime.

Recent Developments 

Denoting to large seizures of heroin in the Indian Ocean region, the report suggests that it could be a sign that drug traffickers are making more use of maritime routes to smuggle heroine to Europe by using the Southern route. 

This development might be going hand in hand with a decline in trafficking along the land routes. The shift can be attributed to a change in tactics by drug trafficking agencies in response to the COVID-19 measures.

Crackdown by Police 

Earlier this year, a joint operation by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Navy led to capturing of 750 kg of drugs worth more than Rs 2,000 crore via a ship off from the Gujarat coast. 

Recently, the Gujarat police captured 75 kgs of heroin, around Rs 376 crore worth, from a shipment in the Mundra Port (Gujrat). The NIA is enquiring the role of international cartel in trafficking 3,000 Kg of heroine at Mundra Port (Gujarat) in September last year. 

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