When technology meets the underworld

👋 Hello, I’m Mark. I am a strategic futurist and innovation keynote speaker. I advise governments and companies on emerging technologies such as AI or the metaverse. My subscribers receive a free weekly newsletter about the latest technology.

Forget cyberpunk dystopias: AI is now the underworld’s favorite crime boss, and it’s helping your wallet.

In a rapidly changing criminal landscape, organized crime syndicates in Asia are using AI, cryptocurrency and messaging platforms like Telegram to expand their operations.

A UN report highlights the rise of a ‘criminal services economy’, in which underground markets provide AI tools for fraud, money laundering and deepfakes. These new technologies have boosted the size and sophistication of criminal networks, making traditional methods of fighting crime look archaic by comparison.

Criminals use AI to automate complex tasks such as coding malware, money laundering, and running social engineering scams. For example, deepfake-related crimes have increased by more than 1,500% between 2022 and 2023, fueled by AI that generates realistic but fraudulent images and videos. The number of deepfake ads on platforms like Telegram has increased by 600% in just six months of 2024, allowing crime groups to deceive with increasing precision.

Cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins like Tether (USDT), facilitate these illegal activities. Nearly 45% of all illegal cryptocurrency transactions take place on the TRON blockchain, with stablecoins enabling shorter scam cycles and faster money laundering processes. The report shows that the average duration of scams has fallen from 271 days in 2020 to just 42 days in the first half of 2024, as criminals shift to faster, more targeted operations.

Messaging apps like Telegram are the backbone of these operations, providing criminals with a relatively unregulated space to buy, sell and coordinate their activities. Despite recent efforts by governments to crack down – such as arrests and forced removal of content – these platforms remain a haven for illegal activity, with minimal accountability.

As these crime networks become more technologically proficient, the question becomes: can governments adapt quickly enough, or will organized crime stay ahead in the digital age?

Read the full article on Het Register.

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This new form of organized crime uses generative AI to launder money, encode malware and produce deepfake fraud that is virtually impossible to trace. The numbers are staggering: a 1,500% spike in deepfake crimes in the Asia Pacific between 2022 and 2023, with Telegram playing a central role in facilitating these operations.

The rapid professionalization of these criminal enterprises raises a sobering question: Can governments and tech companies keep up? As gangs become digital powerhouses, the race to control this AI-powered crime wave intensifies. But will policymakers be agile enough to tackle this threat before it gets out of hand?