Dark Economy | The story of a Ugandan man who escaped human trafficking to Myanmar illustrates how organized crime used modern slavery to turn scams into a massive revenue stream.

Unspoken Security | Erin West joins A.J. Nash to explore the scams draining wealth at an industrial scale — and why business email compromise, government impersonation, and romance scams work so well.

Humanity Research Consultancy | The Scam Compounds Brief is an evidence-based report on scam compounds and trafficking–fraud networks.

WIRED | Estimates show that the use of crypto in human trafficking nearly doubled in 2025. Andy Greenberg reports that many of the deals happen in plain sight.

Hard Reset | Tech both enables and profits from the scam industry. Billionaire leaders have some of the world’s most advanced tech, yet do little to stop scams or support victims.

The Hill | Fraud experts outline the significance of the DOJ indictment of Chen Zhi and what must be done to fight industrialized scamming run by organized crime.

BBC | SpaceX says it has cut Starlink satellite communication links used by scam compounds in Myanmar tied to the multibillion-dollar scam industry.

Freedom Collaborative | A new report documents how East African nationals are being deceived and forced into criminal activity within Southeast Asia’s scam industry.

NBC Bay Area | The Department of Justice has indicted the leader of a sophisticated crime network for operating scam compounds in Myanmar.

The Guardian | Starlink has become Myanmar’s biggest internet provider. A US Congress committee is investigating the activity of Elon Musk’s business in providing internet access to scam centers.

The New Indian Express (AFP) | Despite a crackdown that was supposed to shut down Myanmar scam centers, they’re growing — and Starlink’s presence in the compounds has increased.

1A — WAMU NPR  | Where do scam texts and calls come from? Who sends them? The sender is likely trapped in a scam compound and being forced to commit fraud.

Reuters uses illustrations to tell the story of Oly, an IT consultant who flew from Ethiopia to Thailand to meet a friend for a few days. He was trapped in Southeast Asia for five months.

ASPI | In a new report, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute outlines what’s happening as Myanmar becomes a haven for transnational organized crime groups.

The Guardian | Operated by crime syndicates and fostered by the military junta, the number of massive scam complexes on the Thai-Myanmar border has doubled since 2021.

WIRED | New research reveals that transnational organized crime groups may now be targeting children in their sextortion schemes.

Whale Hunting | Trafficked workers in Southeast-Asian compounds run crypto scams to siphon billions. Operation Shamrock is prying open the ‘pig-butchering’ machine — and fighting to free victims.

The Times | Trafficked by a Chinese crime gang, Mustapha Momoh was held in southeast Asia — one of 375,000 similar people forced to con westerners out of their life savings.