Cybercrime is big business in Asia, and AI could be about to make things worse
FORTUNE
Southeast Asia has become a global epicenter of cyber scams, where high-tech fraud meets human trafficking. In countries like Cambodia and Myanmar, criminal syndicates run industrial-scale “pig butchering” operations—scam centers staffed by trafficked workers forced to con victims in wealthier markets like Singapore and Hong Kong.
The scale is staggering: one UN estimate pegs global losses from these schemes at $37 billion. And it could soon get worse.
The rise of cybercrime in the region is already having an effect on politics and policy. Thailand has reported a drop in Chinese visitors this year, after a Chinese actor was kidnapped and forced to work in a Myanmar-based scam compound; Bangkok is now struggling
Ben Goodman, Okta’s general manager for Asia-Pacific, notes that the region offers some unique dynamics that make cybercrime scams easier to pull off. For example, the region is a “mobile-first market”: Popular mobile messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Line and WeChat help facilitate a direct connection between the scammer and the victim.