Commentary: Southeast Asia’s scam centres are a new US-China battleground

SINGAPORE: Cyberfraud and the proliferation of massive online scam centres are growing problems throughout Southeast Asia. Both China and the United States have vested interests in combating such criminal activities. Unfortunately, the pragmatic application of solutions tends to get mired in geopolitical rivalry. Roughly half a million people have ended up in scam centres across the region through a variety of channels, including fake job offers, forced labour and sometimes willing participation born of economic desperation. In many instances, the people staffing these centres are themselves the victims of human trafficking. These operations generate tens of billions of dollars in…