Southeast Asian leaders and their key international partners, including the United States and China, are set to voice renewed concerns over the growing threat of online scams, according to a draft statement seen by The Associated Press on Friday.
The issue is expected to feature prominently at Tuesday's annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where regional leaders will meet their Asian and Western counterparts in the Philippine capital.
These cross-border criminal activities have cost victims billions of dollars across Asia, the United States and other parts of the world.
The Philippines, which currently holds ASEAN's rotating chairmanship, is leading the 11-member regional bloc, where criminal networks have increasingly exploited technology and human trafficking to expand their illegal and highly profitable operations globally.
In a joint statement to be issued following the East Asia Summit, an expanded ASEAN-led grouping, leaders are expected to express "grave concern over the escalating threat posed by transnational criminal organizations inflicting harm through online scams, including those originating from scam center operations and associated criminal conduct such as human trafficking."
They will also acknowledge how increasingly sophisticated criminal groups exploit digital technologies and financial platforms, highlighting the need to strengthen financial and digital systems and address the serious human consequences of scam centre operations.
Authorities across Southeast Asia have reported in recent years that thousands of people, recruited through fraudulent job offers to work at online scam centres in countries including the Philippines and Cambodia, have faced threats and torture when attempting to flee or disobey orders.
The leaders are expected to call for greater information sharing, improved coordination among law enforcement agencies and the exchange of threat assessments and best practices. They will also seek stronger cooperation among relevant authorities to dismantle scam centres, according to the draft statement, without providing further details.
In July, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that criminal networks based in Southeast Asia were increasingly relying on interconnected operations and advanced technology to extend their activities into other regions.
The report estimated that online scams caused combined financial losses of between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion in 2025.
Criminal networks are increasingly exploiting emerging technologies to launder money through international financial systems and using artificial intelligence to defraud victims worldwide, the UN report said.
It also highlighted how East Asian criminal syndicates are using malware, generative AI and deepfake technology in operations involving sexual extortion and exploitation, increasing the risks of both physical and livestreamed abuse.
Victims are not only trafficked into the sex industry but are also subjected to domestic servitude, forced begging, forced labour and other forms of exploitation, the report said.
At the Manila summit, East Asia Summit leaders are also expected to stress the importance of addressing the root causes and related factors behind online scams, including poverty, inadequate social protection, outdated domestic laws, gaps in public-private coordination, corruption and limited economic opportunities.
They will further emphasise that government measures against online scams must comply with international law and uphold human rights.