Countering Digital Deception: National Responses to Online Scams

Cyber Node Globe | Picture: The Stimson Center

In an article by the Stimson Center, Allison Pytlak, Brian Eyler, and Courtney Weatherby assert that as cyber scam compounds proliferate, target countries are stepping up responses to safeguard national security and economic stability.

Cyber scams have rapidly emerged as a critical security concern over the past two years, with INTERPOL labeling the threat as a “global crisis.” These organized operations span multiple countries but are especially concentrated in special economic zones (SEZs) and fragile areas in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in Southeast Asia, where transnational criminal groups exploit weak governance, rapid digitalization, cryptocurrency markets, and limited law enforcement capacity. Th expansion of cyber-enabled fraud is driving staggering global financial losses, undermining national security and economic prosperity, and fueling trafficking in persons to staff scam compounds. These crimes ripple outward, straining rule of law in host countries and burdening economies of target countries.

This explainer provides an overview of how scam centers operate, outlines common types of online fraud, and profiles national responses from key target countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia and across Southeast Asia.

This resource is part of the broader Countering Cyber Scam Operations Project implemented jointly by the Cyber and Southeast Asia Programs at the Stimson Center, with support from Global Affairs Canada.