Showing 1 - 10 of 69
Fraudsters flee Cambodia's 'scam city' after accused boss taken down
AFP, Published on 16/01/2026
» SIHANOUKVILLE (CAMBODIA) - Hundreds of people dragged away suitcases, computer monitors, pets and furniture as they fled a suspected Cambodian cyberfraud centre, after the country's most wanted alleged scam kingpin was arrested and deported.
Upstart gangsters shake Japan's yakuza
AFP, Published on 19/12/2025
» TOKYO - When Takanori Kuzuoka began climbing the criminal career ladder, he didn't fancy joining Japan's old-school yakuza, with their tattoos, rigid hierarchy and codes of honour.
Myanmar junta says seized 30 Starlink receivers in scam centre raid
AFP, Published on 20/10/2025
» YANGON - Myanmar's junta raided one of the country's most notorious cyberscam centres and seized Starlink satellite internet devices, it said Monday, after an AFP investigation revealed an explosion in their use in the multibillion-dollar illicit industry.
Myanmar scam cities booming despite crackdown -- using Musk's Starlink
AFP, Published on 14/10/2025
» BEIJING - They said they had smashed them. But fraud factories in Myanmar blamed for scamming Chinese and American victims out of billions of dollars are still in business and bigger than ever, an AFP investigation can reveal.
'My heart sank': Surging scams roil US job hunters
AFP, Published on 06/10/2025
» WASHINGTON - After a series of interviews, Nicole Becker was ecstatic to receive a job offer from a sportswear brand. But like many Americans navigating a tough job market, she was soon confronted with a sobering reality -- the recruiter was a scammer.
Deepfake political scam ads surging on Meta platforms
AFP, Published on 02/10/2025
» WASHINGTON - Scammers are among the top political advertising spenders on Meta’s platforms, using deepfake videos of American politicians — including President Donald Trump — to promote fake government benefits, a US watchdog group said Wednesday.
AI-powered ‘nudify’ apps fuel deadly wave of blackmail
AFP, Published on 17/07/2025
» WASHINGTON - After a Kentucky teenager died by suicide this year, his parents discovered he had received threatening texts demanding $3,000 to suppress an AI-generated nude image of him.
Las Vegas in Laos: the riverside city awash with crime
AFP, Published on 14/07/2025
» VAN PAK LEN, Laos - Rising from the muddy fields on the Mekong riverbank in Laos, a lotus tops a casino in a sprawling city which analysts decry as a centre for cybercrime.
'Stuck in limbo': Over 90% of X's Community Notes unpublished, study says
AFP, Published on 10/07/2025
» WASHINGTON — More than 90% of X's Community Notes -- a crowd-sourced verification system popularised by Elon Musk's platform -- are never published, a study said Wednesday, highlighting major limits in its effectiveness as a debunking tool.
AI-generated Pope sermons flood YouTube, TikTok
AFP, Published on 06/06/2025
» WASHINGTON — AI-generated videos and audios of Pope Leo XIV are populating rapidly online, racking up views as platforms struggle to police them.