Taiwan participation can strengthen transnational telecoms fraud fight

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)raud is disrupting people¶s livelihoods in the post pandem ic era. The internet is very much part of daily life in the post pandemic world. :orking, studying, shopping and con ducting other trans actions online have become commonplace. %ut the digital financial services that have developed from these activities are an easy target for criminal organisations and have also made investigating crime more com plicated for the police. ,n 2 2 , Taiwan reported fraud related losses of 1T . billion eTuivalent to approximately 86 million , indicating that fraud has seriously damaged national econom ic development. There is little doubt that fraud poses a formidable challenge to countries worldwide.

,n recent years, fraud has become more diverse and sophisticated and scammers are working in new and constantly evolv ing ways. 6chemes involving cryptocur rency ± recently a hot commodity ± have inflicted heavy losses on victims.

:hen Taiwan¶s police investigate cas es, they often encounter difficulties aris ing from the fact that servers, recipient accounts and cryptocurrency exchange platforms, used by perpetrators, are based overseas. This prevents officers from stopping the transfer of money in time to help the victims and makes it more difficult to track suspects.

The inflow of profits from fraud and other illegal activities involves money laundering, tax evasion, and other crimes that undermine domestic financial regu latory systems and erode the sovereign authority of governments. 3olice cooper ation between Taiwan and other countries would help reduce the number of fraud cases and contribute to the administrative efficiency of governments worldwide.

International cooperation needed

9irtual currencies are a high risk high reward commodity. They have grown increasingly popular in investment mar kets. $s the average person does not fully understand how virtual currencies work, these investments have become a com mon instrument of organised fraud. Tai wan police have recently discovered that money laundering by criminal groups using virtual currencies mostly involves proceeds from investment fraud. 9ictims are lured into registering with a fake in vestment platform and when they try to withdraw funds after making a profit, the customer service system ± operated by a criminal group ± reTuires them to pay ad ditional taxes of to 2 per cent before the withdrawal can be approved. (ven if the payment is made, the criminal group continues to fabricate further demands that the account be replenished in order to cover, for example, transaction fees.

&riminal organisations have shifted their tactics from buying mule bank ac counts to using virtual currency wallets, thus lowering the risk of police detection when funds are withdrawn.

The gangs open phony accounts with virtual currency exchanges, where identity verification procedures are relatively relaxed. 2nce a victim makes a deposit into a designated account, the scammers Tuickly transfer the money multiple times, eventually moving it to a cold wallet. ,t is then switched to another exchange where it is converted into legal tender. &rypto wallets that do not reTuire user authentication and have no upper limit on transactions are a convenient tool for money laundering.

The victim, perpetrator, and location of the crime are usually in different countries. Thus, transnational coopera tion is needed to effectively crack down on the common practice of concealing illegal gains and converting them into legal assets.

Organised human TRAFfiCKING

$nticipating that the number of Mob seekers would increase due to involun tary unemployment driven by the pan demic, criminal organisations set up call centers in various parts of the world and recruited people on a large scale through online advertising. The scammers used attractive slogans like µeasy Mob¶ and µfast financial freedom¶ and promised stable and legal employment in other countries. 9ictims only discovered after arriving that the Mobs involved fraud or were not what they expected. 6ome even had their passports confiscated, were deprived of their freedom, and were beaten or sold to other unlicensed businesses if they refused to comply. ,f they asked to Tuit, they were forced to pay exorbitant fines or threatened with organ removal to compensate the gangs.

+uman trafficking is a serious is sue that needs to be addressed by the global community. )raud rings take advantage of the convenience of the internet to recruit people of different nationalities through multiple channels to work in scam call centres around the world. Taiwan police have long spared no effort to crack down on this type of transnational crime. This year, they have received reports of Taiwanese citi]ens being held against their will and forced to engage in fraudulent activities in &ambodia, the 3hilippines, the 8nited $rab (mirates, and other countries by illegal organisations set up by &hinese nationals. ,nternational cooperation is urgently needed to rescue the victims and fight such crimes.

,n 2 2 , Taiwanese and 9ietnam ese police Mointly cracked down on a fraud ring in Taiwan that was forcing 9ietnamese migrants, who had over stayed their visas to engage in scams targeting their fellow compatriots. The racket earned the criminals 91' .29 billion eTuivalent to about 86

. ,n cooperation with other foreign law enforcement agencies, Taiwan¶s police have uncovered several cases of organised crime outside Taiwan linked to cross border fraud and human traf ficking. They worked with Montenegro in 2 2 and with Turkey in 2 2 to clamp down on organised crime involving perpetrators, victims, and locations in multiple countries. ,n the Moint operation with Montenegro, 92 suspects were arrested for defrauding more than 2 victims of a total of 1T 2. million eTuivalent roughly to 86 2 million . These cases not only underscore the importance of cooperation among coun tries to combat crime but also highlight the need for concerted efforts to protect human dignity and values.

Taiwan’s contribution WILL BENEfiT WORLD

Taiwan has a high regard for the rule of law and human rights. The &onstitution of the 5epublic of &hina Taiwan up holds the ideal that national sovereignty resides with the people and explicitly pro vides for the protection of people¶s rights and freedoms. The government strictly prohibits any action that infringes on the rights of others. Transnational crime often involves multiple countries and areas, which can hinder investigations. ,n the post pandemic world, criminal tactics will continue to evolve and new methods will emerge. ,n investigating new forms of criminal activity, experi ence is invaluable. Taiwan is willing to share its experience in solving crimes. Today, telecommunications and cyber fraud are conducted across borders and transnational crime rings are organised and departmentalised. This poses a challenge to the sovereignty of nations and undermines livelihoods, economies, and law and order. Taiwan is keen to exchange intelligence with partners and assist other countries in staving off threats from overseas and combating organised crime within their borders.

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