UN says Asia-Pacific scam gangs stole over $88bn - Pakistan Today
2026-07-21
Pakistan Today
The information displayed in the AIM should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries.
Transnational crime syndicates in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region used AI, including generative and agentic systems, to perpetrate large-scale scams in 2025, defrauding victims of at least $88 billion. The United Nations reports these AI-enabled operations also facilitated human trafficking and other abuses.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The involvement of AI in the scam networks' operations directly contributes to the large-scale financial harm caused by these frauds. Since the AI systems are used as tools by criminals to perpetrate scams that have already resulted in substantial monetary losses, this constitutes an AI Incident. The harm is realized and significant, involving harm to communities and individuals through financial fraud enabled by AI.[AI generated]