Southeast Asia Scam Networks Caused Up to $114 Billion in Losses: What UK Victims Should Know

Organised criminal networks associated with Southeast Asia have developed online scams into a global financial-crime industry capable of targeting victims across multiple countries.

A new United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report estimates that scam offences caused combined losses of between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion during 2025 across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

The upper estimate is not a UK loss figure and does not relate solely to Southeast Asia. It represents the wider region assessed by the UNODC. The organisation says the criminal networks behind these offences are expanding internationally and increasingly combining online fraud with money laundering, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and human trafficking for forced criminality.

For UK victims, this international structure presents a serious challenge. The person sending the messages, the account receiving the money and the organisation controlling the operation may all be located in different jurisdictions.

From isolated scams to organised financial crime

A modern scam operation may involve far more than one person using a false profile.

Criminal networks can combine:

• Online fraud operations;
• Money-mule recruitment;
• Underground banking;
• Cryptocurrency infrastructure;
• Identity and document fraud;
• False companies and payment intermediaries;
• Human trafficking for forced criminality.

UNODC has described an increasingly interconnected criminal ecosystem involving scam centres, money launderers, human traffickers, data brokers and specialist service providers. These networks can relocate or expand when law-enforcement pressure increases, allowing the activity to continue across new countries and regions.

This helps explain why a victim may encounter several apparently independent people during one fraud.

A supposed romantic partner may introduce an investment adviser. A false trading platform may provide customer support. A lawyer, tax official or compliance officer may later demand further payment.

Each identity may be controlled by a different participant within the same organisation.

How scam compounds operate

Some organised fraud operations are run from compounds where large numbers of workers use prepared scripts, stolen identities and digital tools to target people online.

Workers may be instructed to:

• Approach potential victims through social media or messaging platforms;
• Build emotional or professional trust;
• Introduce false investments;
• Operate fabricated trading platforms;
• Impersonate officials, advisers or business contacts;
• Pressure victims into making further payments.

Not everyone working inside a scam compound is participating voluntarily.

UNODC has documented the trafficking of people into compounds where they may be forced to commit fraud following recruitment through false job advertisements. Victims of trafficking may be confined, threatened or subjected to violence if they refuse to participate or fail to meet financial targets.

The same criminal organisation may therefore exploit both the person losing money and the person instructed to carry out the communications.

How UK victims may be targeted

The same criminal infrastructure can support several forms of fraud, including:

• Romance fraud involving fabricated personal relationships;
• Pig-butchering fraud combining trust-building with false investments;
• Investment fraud promoted through advertisements, social media or impersonated advisers;
• Business-payment fraud involving altered bank details or wallet addresses;
• Recovery fraud targeting people who have already lost money.

These methods frequently overlap. A relationship may be used to introduce a false investment, while a supposed recovery process becomes a second fraud.

For guidance on identifying the type of fraud and taking the first practical steps, read Romance Scam, Pig-Butchering Scam or Investment Fraud: What Should a Victim Do First?.

How artificial intelligence helps networks scale

Artificial intelligence can help fraud networks communicate with more victims and make false identities appear increasingly convincing.

It may be used to produce:

• Personalised messages;
• Synthetic photographs;
• Cloned voices;
• Manipulated video;
• Translated conversations;
• False identity documents;
• Automated responses adapted to the victim.

UNODC reports that organised criminal groups are using AI, deepfakes and other technological tools to improve impersonation, social engineering and the scale of their operations.

A photograph, voice recording or short video call should not be treated as conclusive proof that a person is genuine.

The claimed identity, payment recipient, investment platform and professional relationships should all be verified independently.

How stolen funds are moved

The first recipient of a payment may not be the person who designed or controlled the fraud.

Victims may be instructed to send money to:

• A personal bank account;
• A UK or overseas company;
• A cryptocurrency exchange;
• A digital wallet;
• A payment processor;
• A supposed solicitor or investment intermediary;
• An account controlled by another manipulated victim.

After receipt, the money may be:

• Withdrawn in cash;
• Divided among several accounts;
• Transferred through money mules;
• Converted into cryptocurrency;
• Moved between digital wallets;
• Transferred through overseas businesses;
• Used to purchase assets.

Criminal networks increasingly use cryptocurrency, underground banking and legitimate financial infrastructure to move and disguise proceeds. Each further transaction can introduce new institutions, intermediaries and jurisdictions.

This is why rapid reporting and preservation of the complete payment trail are essential.

What UK victims should do immediately

The first priority is to prevent further loss.

1. Stop all further payments.
2. Contact every bank, exchange or payment provider involved.
3. Ask whether recent payments can be recalled or reviewed.
4. Preserve complete communications and transaction records.
5. Report the fraud through the appropriate official service.
6. Avoid anyone promising guaranteed recovery.

Do not pay additional taxes, withdrawal charges, verification costs or release fees demanded after the original transfer.

A balance displayed on an investment platform does not prove that the money exists.

For detailed guidance after money has been transferred, read Romance Fraud Investigation and Asset Recovery: What Victims Should Do.

Evidence to preserve

Retain:

• Full message histories;
• Profile URLs and usernames;
• Email addresses and telephone numbers;
• Bank-account details;
• Payment confirmations and references;
• Cryptocurrency wallet addresses;
• Transaction hashes;
• Exchange-account records;
• Investment-platform screenshots;
• Website addresses and domains;
• Names of supposed advisers or representatives;
• Contracts and identity documents;
• A dated payment timeline.

Where possible, export complete conversations and retain original files rather than relying only on screenshots.

Do not edit or annotate the only copy of the evidence.

What cross-border asset tracing may establish

In a substantial-loss case, an investigation may examine the route taken by the money and the people or organisations connected with it.

This may include:

• Recipient-account intelligence;
• Company and director research;
• Address and identity enquiries;
• Known aliases and associates;
• Cryptocurrency transaction analysis;
• Wallet links and exchange exposure;
• Property and corporate assets;
• Connections between intermediaries;
• Relevant jurisdictions and potential legal targets.

The objective is to understand who received, controlled, moved or benefited from the funds.

Conflict International’s Asset Tracing Services support domestic and international enquiries involving conventional assets, corporate structures and cryptocurrency transactions.

Tracing does not guarantee that every account holder will be identified or that recoverable assets remain available.

Confidential information held by banks, platforms and exchanges may require police powers, court orders or formal legal disclosure.

Why recovery can be difficult

An identified recipient account or visible blockchain trail may provide valuable intelligence, but it does not automatically result in recovery.

The prospects may depend on:

• How quickly the fraud was reported;
• Whether funds remain with an identifiable institution;
• Whether the recipient can be identified;
• The involvement of money mules and intermediaries;
• The jurisdictions through which the money moved;
• Whether assets exist and can be connected to a subject;
• The availability and cost of legal remedies.

Victims should be cautious of anyone claiming that funds have already been located or that recovery is guaranteed.

Legitimate investigative work should explain the available evidence, the limitations of tracing and the likely need for cooperation from banks, law enforcement and legal advisers.

What the UN estimate demonstrates

The estimated losses of between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion demonstrate the scale of the criminal economy supporting online fraud across the region assessed by the UNODC.

These offences should not be viewed solely as isolated acts of online deception.

Organised networks can combine:

• Technology and social engineering;
• Financial fraud and money laundering;
• Cryptocurrency and underground banking;
• False companies and professional impersonation;
• Human trafficking and forced criminality;
• Domestic payment routes and international criminal control.

For UK victims, the correct response is to act quickly, preserve the complete evidence trail and examine the payment network rather than concentrating only on the profile that initiated contact.

How Conflict International can assist

Conflict International supports individuals, families, businesses and legal advisers dealing with complex fraud and cross-border financial loss.

Depending on the available evidence, our work may include:

• Identity and alias enquiries;
• Open-source and digital investigation;
• Company and address research;
• Recipient and intermediary analysis;
• Financial intelligence;
• Cryptocurrency tracing;
• Asset tracing;
• Evidence and chronology preparation;
• International investigative enquiries;
• Support for legal advisers.

Learn more about our Fraud and Financial Investigation Services.

Our work does not replace reporting to the police, financial institutions or relevant fraud-reporting services. We cannot compel banks, platforms or cryptocurrency exchanges to disclose confidential information without appropriate legal authority.

If you have lost money through a suspected international scam, contact Conflict International in confidence to discuss the available evidence and realistic next steps.