How banks can combat increasingly sophisticated scam tactics
May 2025 | American Banker | Unlike fraud schemes where criminals gain unauthorized access to funds, scams often involve victims being manipulated into willingly initiating transactions themselves.
National Elder Fraud Coordination Center comes alive
May 2025 | BioCatch | AARP, Amazon, Google, and Walmart have launched the National Elder Fraud Coordination Center (NEFCC) nonprofit to help protect older adults.
Better coverage, but exploited for crime? Southeast Asia confronts Starlink dilemma
May 2025 | Channel News Asia | While Starlink could deliver better internet to remote and disaster-hit communities, experts say it poses challenges for regional governments, experts say.
India and Thailand Cooperate to Fight Cybercrime and Human Trafficking
VARINDIA | India and Thailand held talks to address growing concerns around cross-border cybercrime, online scam networks, and human trafficking in Southeast Asia.
North Korea-linked gang stole billions using ‘pig butchering’ romance scams
May 2025 | New York Post | A Cambodia-based gang with ties to North Korea has stolen billions of dollars from Americans through romance scams and other cyber-heists, according to federal officials.
Make Some Noise for Manila
April 2025 | The Big Trace | The Philippines offers a glimmer of hope that Southeast Asia's scam industry isn’t destined for a future of unchecked growth.
FBI says online scams raked in $16.6 billion last year
May 2025 | NBC News | A new report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center illustrates how cybercrime is a growing problem, with older Americans hit particularly hard.
Smishing Triad: The Scam Group Stealing the World’s Riches
April 2025 | WIRED | Millions of scam text messages are sent monthly. The Chinese cybercriminals sending them are expanding their operations — and innovating quickly.
Frontline Updates from the Thai-Myanmar Border
March 2025 | The Big Trace | Heavy construction, military deployments, international airlifts and other take-aways from a recent visit to a global scamming hotspot.
Elon Musk’s Starlink Is Keeping Modern Slavery Compounds Online
February 2025 | WIRED | A investigation reveals that criminals who make billions from scam compounds in Myanmar—where tens of thousands of people are enslaved—are using Starlink to get online.
The Loneliness Epidemic Is a Security Crisis
WIRED | Romance scams cost victims billions every year. As people grow increasingly isolated, scammers are using generative AI to scale their crimes.
Selfishness vs. Selflessness in Southeast Asia
January 2025 | The Big Trace | A growing community of selfless activists is taking responsibility to tackle Southeast Asia’s growing fraud problem.
The Moei River: A Modern Remake of Bruegel’s Icarus
December 2024 | The Big Trace | Reflections on an eye-opening journey along the Thai-Myanmar border where, at least for now, crime does pay.