VARINDIA | India and Thailand held talks to address growing concerns around cross-border cybercrime, online scam networks, and human trafficking in Southeast Asia.

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.

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.

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.

WIRED | Millions of scam text messages are sent monthly. The Chinese cybercriminals sending them are expanding their operations — and innovating quickly.

New York Times |  Governments and law enforcement face a complex, ever-evolving, and shape-shifting web of connections, preventing them from stopping the criminal organizations behind it all.

The Big Trace | Heavy construction, military deployments, international airlifts and other take-aways from a recent visit to a global scamming hotspot.

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 Economist | Online scamming compares in size and scope to the illegal drug industry. In many ways it is worse. Everyone becomes a potential target simply by going about their lives. [paywall]

WIRED | Romance scams cost victims billions every year. As people grow increasingly isolated, scammers are using generative AI to scale their crimes.

The Big Trace | A growing community of selfless activists is taking responsibility to tackle Southeast Asia’s growing fraud problem.

The Big Trace | Reflections on an eye-opening journey along the Thai-Myanmar border where, at least for now, crime does pay.

WIRED | We talk a lot about scamming operations in Southeast Asia, but the criminal organizations that run them have expanded their operations worldwide.

Global China Pulse | Money laundering for scam operations is big business in Cambodia, where workers help scammers move stolen funds to hide their source.

WIRED | A Chainalysis report finds that stablecoins, tied to the value of the US dollar, were used in the majority of crypto-based scam transactions and sanctions evasion in 2023.