Southeast Asia’s scam hubs are adept at conning. Now AI is making it easier, faster

Criminals in Southeast Asia are harnessing inexpensive AI tools to target bigger pools of potential victims at high speed, keeping scam centres humming even as governments try to crack down, senior officials at Interpol say.Previously, some scams were easy to spot – from poor quality online ads luring people to work in such centres to the scams themselves, typically designed to make people part with their money through the promise of romance or investment returns.Now, scammers are using large language models and other AI tools to make their cons more sophisticated. Artificial intelligence also allows them to change course quickly, shifting to newer targets and from fresh locations.“You can see the efficiency with AI being utilised in scam centres,” said Neal Jetton, who leads the Cybercrime Directorate at Interpol in Singapore. “It’s a pretty easy business model, and I think it’s going to get even easier for criminals with AI.” Among other things, AI helps with voice cloning and with using voice tools to create quick and realistic images for profiles, he said.Scam centres’ embrace of AI comes as Cambodia cracks down following pressure from countries including the US, China and Thailand, with whom it recently fought another border war. Chen Zhi, the alleged kingpin of an international syndicate who faces charges in the US, was arrested in Cambodia and deported to China. Beijing also recently announced it had executed 11 people linked to scam centres in Myanmar.Rather than be eradicated, Interpol officials see scam centres as more likely to evolve. Simply put, AI allows operators to scale up at low cost, making them more willing to run the risk of being caught.