Southeast Asia’s cyber scam rings have become a global network, making up to US$3 trillion yearly: Interpol
- Interpol chief Jurgen Stock said the organised crime groups are now ‘working at a scale that was unimaginable a decade ago’
- He added the burgeoning cyber scam centres had helped the syndicates diversify their revenue from drug trafficking
Organised crime rings who fuelled an “explosion” of human trafficking and cyber scam centres during the pandemic have expanded from Southeast Asia into a global network making up to US$3 trillion a year, the head of Interpol said on Wednesday.
“Driven by online anonymity, inspired by new business models and accelerated by Covid, these organised crime groups are now working at a scale that was unimaginable a decade ago,” Interpol secretary general Jurgen Stock told a briefing at the global police coordination body’s Singapore office.
“What began as a regional crime threat in Southeast Asia has become a global human trafficking crisis, with millions of victims, both in the cyber scam centres and as targets.”
The new cyber scam centres, often staffed by unwilling staff trafficked with the promise of legitimate jobs, had helped organised crime groups diversify their revenue from drug trafficking, Stock said.
Drug trafficking businesses still contributed 40 per cent to 70 per cent of criminal groups’ income, he said.