TechFlow news, October 8 — According to CoinDesk, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report calling on Southeast Asian countries to criminalize the operation of money service businesses or virtual asset service providers (VASPs) without proper licensing. The report指出 that certain VASPs—including entities linked to known criminals—are facilitating transactions for fraudulent organizations and high-risk gambling websites.
Masood Karimipour, UNODC Regional Representative, emphasized that governments must urgently recognize the severity, scale, and scope of this global threat and prioritize solutions to address the rapidly evolving criminal ecosystem in the region. The report recommends strengthening regulations on organized crime involvement in casinos, betting intermediaries, and online fraud operations, as well as enhancing law enforcement training on money laundering methods tied to online gambling and complex technologies, particularly cryptocurrency.
The UNODC warned that scammers are diversifying their tactics and leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Investigations reveal that fraudulent schemes have expanded to include identity impersonation, fake job offers, asset recovery scams, and targeted phishing attacks. Furthermore, criminal syndicates are accelerating the use of AI and deepfake technologies to refine their illicit operations.
