As digital fraud, including so-called “pig-butchering” investment scams, proliferates in Southeast Asia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) this week releases a comprehensive report that issues dire warnings about the rapid growth of this criminal ecosystem. did. Rather than relying on malware or other sophisticated technological methods, many digital scams have traditionally relied on social engineering to trick victims into willingly handing over money. But researchers warn that fraudsters are incorporating generative AI content and deepfakes to expand the scale and effectiveness of their operations. And the UN report provides the clearest evidence yet that these high-tech tools are turning an already dire situation into a crisis.
In addition to purchasing scripts or relying on malicious website templates to use on potential victims, attackers are also using generative AI platforms and tools to create communication content in multiple languages. , increasingly relying on deepfake generators that can create and display photos and videos of people who don’t exist. Become a victim and increase authenticity. Fraudsters also use tools to deplete victims’ crypto wallets, manipulate transaction records to trick targets into sending crypto to the wrong location, and compromise smart contracts to steal crypto. Its use is expanding. In some cases, they are purchasing Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system to strengthen their efforts.
“Nimble criminal networks are integrating these new technologies faster than expected, with new online markets and service providers fueling the illicit services economy,” UNODC regional analyst John Wojcik told WIRED. Ta. “These developments have not only expanded the scope and efficiency of cyber-enabled fraud and cybercrime, but also expanded the scope of criminal networks that previously lacked the technical skills to exploit more sophisticated and profitable techniques. We have also lowered the barrier to entry.”
For years, China-linked criminals have trafficked people into huge facilities in Southeast Asia, where they are often forced to commit fraud, held against their will, and beaten if they refuse instructions. . Over the past five years, approximately 200,000 people from at least 60 countries have been trafficked into facilities primarily in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. However, as WIRED’s reporting shows, these operations have spread across the globe, with fraudulent infrastructure emerging in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and West Africa.
Most notably, these organized crime operations run pig-butchering scams, building intimate relationships with victims before presenting them with “investment opportunities” and demanding money. A criminal organization may have defrauded people of about $75 billion in pig slaughtering scams. In addition to pig butchering, criminals across Southeast Asia also commit recruitment fraud, law enforcement impersonation, asset recovery fraud, virtual kidnapping, sextortion, loan fraud, business email fraud, and other crimes, according to a United Nations report. They are also said to be carrying out illegal plans. UN officials estimate that criminal networks in the region earned up to $37 billion last year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all of this revenue allows fraudsters to expand and diversify their operations, incorporating new infrastructure and technology into their systems in hopes of making them more efficient and brutally effective. You can.
For example, scammers are often limited by their linguistic skills and ability to carry on conversations in numerous languages and dialects with hundreds of victims at once. However, developments in generative AI over the past two years (including the launch of writing tools like ChatGPT) have made it easier for criminals to break down language barriers and create the content needed to commit fraud.
