UNODC Report: How Organized Criminal Groups Deceive and Fraud

“How would you feel if your worst life experience was broadcasted by Netflix globally?”

For most people, the question would be rhetorical.

But not for Ayleen Charlotte, a victim of fraud whose ordeal was highlighted in the Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler.”

“Well, it happened to me.”

The Road from Romance to Theft

Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the Crime Commission at the UN in Vienna, Ayleen sketched out her story – she matched with a man on Tinder, who started showering her with attention and gifts. Seven months into the relationship, he told her that a big business deal had fallen through, creating enemies who were “chasing him – and if they couldn’t catch him, they would come to her.” He needed a safe address and a credit card not under his name – and so Ayleen allowed him to move in with her and gave him her cards and all her savings

He kept promising to repay her through wire transfers which never arrived, leading her to borrow more and more – over 160,000 British pounds.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Issue Paper on Organized Fraud, Ayleen’s situation was a classic example of relationship and trust fraud, whereby “the fraudsters use specific techniques to foster and exploit the power of a personal relationship to develop the trust needed to manipulate and deceive victims. In this case of fraud, the victim […] has the expectation to form a genuine relationship with the offender”. Fraudsters can use a variety of social engineering techniques over a period of months – or even years – to gain a victim’s trust.

After a year, the constant pressure, stress and escalating financial problems had worn Ayleen down. Her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resurfaced and she struggled with anxiety, insomnia, anger and intense mood swings. Her so-called “boyfriend” even asked her to sell her car and her house, which finally solidified her growing suspicions that something was terribly wrong.

And then, during a casual scroll through Instagram, she saw his face. His picture was connected to a news article called “The Tinder Swindler”, detailing the story of two other women who had been defrauded by this man. She immediately recognized all the same patterns of manipulation and lies. ”I finally saw him,” she explains.

Anyone Can Be a Victim Of Fraud – Here’s Why

Elisabeth Carter, Criminologist and Forensic Linguist at Kingston University, notes that Ayleen’s story follows common patterns deployed by criminals. “We are all susceptible, and we’re all vulnerable to fraud,” she says.

“Societal perceptions of this are so incredibly negative because it looks like somebody is ignoring the red flags and is giving their money away to someone they don’t know, and so they’re a willing participant in their own deception. But actually, there’s emotional grooming involved – and it is abuse, akin to domestic abuse and coercive control.”

Fraud & Scams as an Organized Crime

Though individuals can commit fraud, it is increasingly perpetrated by highly motivated and transnational organized criminal groups making staggering levels of profits, notes UNODC’s Issue Paper.

Elisabeth highlights that these criminals often work in teams and use scripts. “They have conferences where they tell each other their most successful techniques, and they tag-team when they’re on WhatsApp messaging their victim in romance fraud. So, one of them messages during the day, one of them messages during the night,” she explains.

“Now, we all know that sleep deprivation is a method of torture. It harms your cognitive processing. It stops you being able to make reasonable and rational decisions.

“Yet it’s all housed within the context of a lovely romance, where the person that you are in love with can’t wait to message you in the morning or late at night, so it all seems lovely and romantic.

“But actually, there’s serious abuse going on.”

Lucia Harris, Director of Member Protection at Match Group (parent company to dating apps like Tinder, Hinge and OKCupid) warns that online scams across dating and social media platforms are becoming more sophisticated. Fraudsters are increasingly perpetrating relationship-based investment scams where scammers are directing their connections to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, or gold via fake platforms, she notes.

“This is giving these groups immense economic power – they are incredibly well-funded businesses with access to massive financial resources, which means that they’re able to build entire ecosystems around their victims, creating worlds that both look and feel completely legitimate.”

Fraud as Immersive Experiences

Real-time customer support, rehearsed replies, real payments at first – all of these elements combine to make it extremely reasonable to believe you’re not being scammed, Harris says.

AI is also now “super-charging the scam economy,” she adds. “Scammers were once limited by language barriers or clunky translation tools. But now AI can let them communicate really fluently across borders and deep fake technology is being used to build trust on an entirely new level. Fraudsters can conduct nightly video calls using synthetic avatars, giving someone the impression that they know exactly who they’re talking to.

“In short, these are just not scams anymore,” she emphasizes. “They’re extremely well-funded, immersive experiences, and each has continuously added layers of realism, from customer support to tangible financial returns to regular video calls. This means that victims are not acting irrationally – they’re responding to a situation that has been deliberately designed by organized criminal syndicates to feel authentic and rewarding.”

Preventing and Responding to Organized Crime

UNODC is working at the global, regional and national levels to strengthen prevention and disrupt the ecosystems that allow fraud to flourish. It collaborates with governments, the private sector and civil society to deliver practical solutions – ranging from legislation and public-private partnerships to communication strategies and trainings – to help authorities and communities better understand, prevent and combat organized fraud.

In Southeast Asia, UNODC is supporting and enabling intelligence-led operational responses and investments in improved legislative and regulatory frameworks to disrupt the criminal ecosystem which have allowed the industry to grow.

In addition, UNODC supports coordination efforts and dedicated task forces, which have contributed to key developments, such as Thailand’s recent decision to shut down key organized crime infrastructure. UNODC’s work also emphasizes the need for targeted capacities to gather, analyze and share electronic evidence; reduced space for criminal groups to move and invest resources via underground banking systems and the region’s casino industry; and improved cooperation to stop the flow of people trafficked into scam centres in the region.

UNODC also provides regular briefings to policymakers, law enforcement agencies, international partners, academics and other experts on the issue, with the objective of fostering dialogue and advancing efforts to address organized crime more effectively. Recent UNODC research has informed governments to prioritize action at the national and regional levels and contributed to concrete policy changes and responses against individuals and entities involved in these activities.

Further Information

The side event, held during the 34^th Crime Commission, was organized by UNODC and the Republic of Singapore and supported by Japan and the United Kingdom.

To better prevent and protect ourselves and our loved ones from organized fraud, UNODC’s Preventing and Combating Organized Fraud Project is currently developing an issue paper on effective communication practices for fraud prevention.