The UN has recorded record losses from scam networks: $114 billion and a new criminal architecture
The scale of organized fraud in East and Southeast Asia, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, has reached astronomical levels. Based on my estimates derived from global data analysis, the total damage from scam operations in 2025 ranges from $88.3 to $114.1 billion. These are not just numbers—they are a marker of a systemic shift in the region's criminal economy.
It is important to understand that these calculations account for both officially recorded losses and the latent share of victims who, for various reasons, do not report to authorities. The methodology is certainly imperfect due to differences in the classification of fraudulent schemes across countries, but the overall trend is clear. For comparison: in 2023, the same indicator was estimated at $18–37 billion. A roughly threefold increase in two years is not just a spike, but a fundamental restructuring of the market.
Cryptocurrencies as the Circulatory System of the Shadow Economy
The role of digital assets deserves special attention. The report emphasizes that criminal groups systematically use USDT on the TRON blockchain as a parallel financial infrastructure. This combination enables almost instant, cheap, and pseudonymous cross-border transfers. Through P2P platforms and over-the-counter brokers, fiat is converted into stablecoins and back, effectively bypassing banking controls. I have repeatedly noted that stablecoins have become the "fuel" for modern cybercrime, and this data only confirms my thesis.
Crime Franchising: A New Organizational Model
The most alarming conclusion is that this is not just a collection of disparate groups, but a cross-border network with shared infrastructure. The model, which experts compare to corporate franchising, unites under one "roof" services for money laundering, human trafficking, illegal migrant smuggling, and data collection. Scam centers are large, isolated compounds where people are detained and forced to work in investment and romance scams. As analysts rightly note, the scale and complexity of this criminal economy already outpace existing countermeasures.
Technological Race: AI and Satellites at the Service of Fraudsters
Criminal groups are actively adopting generative AI, deepfakes, encrypted messengers, and even Starlink satellite internet. This lowers the barrier to entry for complex schemes: small groups can now generate characters, clone voices, and launch phishing campaigns in real time. The 42% year-over-year increase in the use of legitimate advertising networks to distribute malware in 2025 is further evidence of the professionalization of attacks.
Global Recruitment and Impunity
The geography of recruitment is expanding: citizens of at least 80 countries have been identified in scam compounds. Requirements for knowledge of German, Polish, Spanish, and other European languages in job ads indicate that residents of Europe and North America will be the next targets. Meanwhile, as practice shows, law enforcement pressure on individual sites does not destroy the infrastructure—networks simply change jurisdictions and recover through new nodes.
My comment: We are witnessing not just a rise in fraud, but the formation of a full-fledged shadow economy with its own infrastructure, technologies, and personnel. While law enforcement focuses on blocking individual sites, criminals are creating invulnerable networks. The only way to counter this is a comprehensive approach, including training investigators to work with crypto assets, international coordination, and, critically, the regulation of stablecoins at a global level. Without this, we will only watch as the loss figures grow year after year.