Authorities in Korea and Beijing dismantled a sprawling voice phishing syndicate responsible for financial losses totaling US$ 1.1 billion. But South-East Asian observers believe this to be only the tip of an impenetrable iceberg of cybercrime in South-East Asia that is rapidly starting spread around the globe.
The Korean bust was part of an Interpol-co-ordinated global operation involving law enforcement from 40 countries, territories, and regions and has ended with the arrest of over 5,500 financial crime suspects and the seizure of more than US$400 million in virtual assets and government-backed currencies.
The five-month Operation HAECHI V (July – November 2024) targeted seven types of cyber-enabled frauds: voice phishing, romance scams, online sextortion, investment fraud, illegal online gambling, business email compromise fraud, and e-commerce fraud. HAECHI operations are supported financially by Korea. The fraudsters’ modus operandi included masquerading as law enforcement officials and using counterfeit identification. The operation led to the arrest of at least 27 members of the organized criminal group, with 19 individuals subsequently indicted.
Victims spread far and wide
Although cybercrime is physically based in Korea and China, its victims are spread far and wide. For example, the Singapore Police Force used Interpol’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) tool when a commodity firm in Singapore fell victim to a business email compromise fraud. The firm had been tricked into transferring US$42.3 million to a fake supplier’s bank account in Timor Leste, where authorities were successfully able to intercept US$39.3 million. In Guernsey, United Kingdom, the Guernsey Financial Intelligence Unit worked with UK authorities to submit an I-GRIP request to Portugal seeking to intercept over US$2.5 million in funds arising from business email compromise fraud. Rapid communication with Portuguese police authorities via I-GRIP meant the money was intercepted and subsequently returned in full.
Cybercriminals now using SE Asian drug routes
But, according to Joshua James, the regional coordinator for South-East Asia and the South Pacific at the United Nations, organized crime in the regions has become increasingly involved in cybercrime. James reports that cybercriminals are now using tough-to-police previously existing money-laundering and drug trade routes as a base for their activities.
“When the coronavirus came along, drug groups needed to diversify and one of the areas they diversified into was online scams. The business model was so successful that they are now beginning to export it to other countries,” said James.
