UN Reveals Southeast Asian Criminal Syndicates Leverage Crypto, Telegram
Southeast Asian criminal organizations are increasingly using Telegram to facilitate global online scams, defrauding billions from unsuspecting victims, according to a new UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report. The syndicates, many of which operate on an international scale, primarily rely on cryptocurrency for their illegal activities, particularly Tether’s stablecoin USDT. The report also highlights deepfake technology as another major technological development that has been aiding criminal networks. Telegram’s encryption and lack of moderation have made it a popular tool for criminal operations. According to UNODC, this platform has become a major hub for trading hacked data, including browser…