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Scam ops spreading
Just days after the US placed sanctions on multiple entities and individuals suspected of being connected to Cambodia and Myanmar scam center networks, a UN body has reported the rise of a similar network in East Timor.
latest scam center hotspot”
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) issued a warning Thursday that a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the country that lies entirely within Indonesian territory has become the latest “scam center hotspot” in the region.
The UN stated that transnational organized crime networks and Chinese triads have infiltrated East Timor’s SAR of Oecusse Ambeno via foreign investment scams.
East Timor rolled out a digital free trade zone in the SAR in December but, according to the UN, a law enforcement raid in August revealed that crime was thriving.
“Analysis links these operations to entities associated with convicted cybercriminals, offshore gambling operators,” the UNODC warned.
Threat is real
According to reports, the Oecusse raid found Starlink satellite devices and SIM cards, items that match regional scam center modus operandi.
Investigators also found links to China’s 14K Triad crime network and scam compounds in Cambodia.
Just a day before the US sanctioned cyber scam operators in Myanmar and Cambodia for allegedly stealing over $10bn from Americans, another report revealed scam centers along the Thailand-Myanmar border have “more than doubled” since 2021.
Cambodia and Myanmar also have SARs, just like East Timor’s, that double as hubs for scam centers. These centers earn billions for their crime networks via illegal gambling, online romance ruses, or long-term investment fraud.
Flexible criminals
According to the UNODC’s report, increased busts and media coverage of scam centers have “pushed criminal groups to find new venues like East Timor.”
“Criminal groups are exploiting shell companies, professional services, and multiple passports to evade detection, while embedding illicit operations within legitimate investment frameworks,” the UNODC added.
“This trend” said the UNODC of the facsimile scam network found in the SAR of Australia’s near neighbor, “underscores the resilience and adaptability of the scam centre industry, and the risks posed when emerging economies become targets.”
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