UN reports $114 billion crypto scams in Asia Pacific in 2025

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that transnational scam networks operating across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia‑Pacific stole between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion from victims in 2025, with a large share funneled through cryptocurrency. The syndicates have shifted from isolated, single‑specialty gangs to a franchised, multinational structure that shares infrastructure for money‑laundering, fraud, human‑trafficking and data‑theft operations. Losses now exceed the GDP of several countries in the region and are roughly three times the $18‑$37 billion UN projected for 2023. China, South Korea and Taiwan reported multi‑billion‑dollar losses. Recruiters use AI‑driven translation tools to target speakers of English, German, French and other languages. Core compounds are located in Cambodia and Myanmar, where workers—some trafficked—run romance‑ and crypto‑investment scams often dubbed “pig‑butchering.”