- há 12 horas
FRONTLINE and The Associated Press investigate how online scams steal billions of dollars and ruin victims’ lives. The documentary traces the rise of a global criminal industry, the people and technology enabling it, and the efforts to shut it down.
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NotíciasTranscrição
00:00:00A CIDADE NO BRASIL
00:00:30A GLOBAL INVESTIGATION
00:00:32VICTIMS ARE GETTING HIT WITH ROMANCE AND CRYPTOCURRENCY
00:00:36AND THEN LOSING ALL OF THEIR MONEY
00:00:38EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS VULNERABLE TO SCAMS IN A DIFFERENT WAY
00:00:42LONG CON CRYPTO-BASED INVESTMENT SCAMS
00:00:45A POLICE IMPOSTER
00:00:47HE PROMISED TO LOVE ME
00:00:48IT'S GUT WRENCHING AND IT'S LIFE CHANGING
00:00:51THE PERPETRATORS
00:00:52DO YOU EVER FEEL BAD ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
00:00:55VICTIMS
00:00:56DOCTORS, LAWYERS, I.T. PROFESSIONALS
00:00:58PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH COMPUTERS
00:01:00AND WORK WITH THE INTERNET
00:01:01AND THEY WERE SCAMMED
00:01:03THE EFFORTS TO SHUT IT DOWN
00:01:05AT SOME POINT
00:01:06THE BIG TECH COMPANIES HAVE TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE
00:01:09BECAUSE THEY ARE PROVIDING THE TOOLS
00:01:11THEY'RE AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING
00:01:13WE HAVE TO FIGHT IT LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
00:01:16AND THE DANGEROUS ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
00:01:19THE SCAM INDUSTRY IS HEADING LIKE A ROCKET SHIP
00:01:22TOWARDS THE AI UNIVERSE
00:01:23YOU CAN JUST HAVE AN ARMY OF AI AVATARS
00:01:26SCAMMING PEOPLE
00:01:27CAN I SEND YOU A MESSAGE?
00:01:28IF YOU LOOK TO THE FUTURE
00:01:29IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET HARDER
00:01:31TO BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT'S REAL
00:01:32TO BE ABLE TO TELL WHO'S A SCAMMER
00:01:34TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND YOURSELF ON YOUR OWN
00:01:36NOW ON FRONT LINE
00:01:37THERE ARE SO MANY LAYERS TO THIS
00:01:40SCAMMED
00:01:42IT'S A VERY INDUSTRIALIZED CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION
00:01:46THAT IS CAPITALIZING ON HUMAN TRUST
00:02:09THIS PROGRAM CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT
00:02:12INCLUDING DISCUSSION OF SUICIDE
00:02:14VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
00:02:24I DON'T BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON
00:02:30I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS GOOD
00:02:31AND THERE IS EVIL IN THIS WORLD
00:02:34AND SOMETIMES EVIL ATTACKS YOU
00:02:38FOR SOMEONE TO TELL ME THAT THIS WOULD BE
00:02:40PART OF GOD'S PLAN I CAN'T
00:02:44I CAN'T ACCEPT THAT
00:02:49GABIN WAS A VERY QUIRKY KID AND A VERY ARTISTIC KID
00:02:53AND WHEN HE WALKED INTO A ROOM IT JUST LIT UP
00:02:56I MEAN HE JUST HAD THIS SPIRIT THAT SPREAD THROUGH EVERYBODY
00:03:00AND HE INCLUDED EVERYBODY
00:03:02WE WALKED EVERYWHERE WE FOUND LIGHTSAVERS
00:03:04HE LOVED ARTS HE LOVED MUSIC
00:03:06JUST A GUY THAT YOU WANT TO BE WITH INTERACT WITH
00:03:09HE KNEW HOW TO MAKE YOU LAUGH HE WAS LIKE THAT TYPE PERSON
00:03:13THAT YOU WANTED TO HANG OUT WITH
00:03:17HE WAS JUST SOMEBODY THAT WAS CREATIVE
00:03:19ALWAYS HAD IDEAS FOR STUFF TO DO
00:03:21LIKE WE WOULD EXPLORE ABANDONED BUILDINGS
00:03:24LIKE THAT WAS ONE THING THAT WE DID A LOT
00:03:26WHICH WAS SO MUCH FUN
00:03:30GOP
00:03:30THAT WAS THE NICKNAME HE GAVE HIMSELF
00:03:32THAT WAS HIS NICKNAME
00:03:34HE WAS SUCH AN OUTGOING PERSON
00:03:37PLAYFUL FUN YOU KNOW
00:03:40TYPE OF PERSON THAT YOU KNOW
00:03:44AND YOU KNOW IT KILLS ME INSIDE TO THINK LIKE
00:03:47WHAT WOULD HE BE DOING WHAT TYPE OF LIFE WOULD HE BE HAVING
00:03:52LATE ONE NIGHT IN 2022
00:03:5517-YEAR-OLD GAVIN GUFFEY WAS ALONE IN HIS BEDROOM
00:03:58PLAYING VIDEO GAMES ONLINE WITH FRIENDS
00:04:00HIS FATHER BRANDON
00:04:02WHO WAS RUNNING FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
00:04:04WAS JUST GETTING HOME
00:04:07I CAME IN FROM A POLITICAL EVENT
00:04:09RIGHT AROUND MIDNIGHT THAT NIGHT
00:04:10AND I COULD HEAR GAVIN ON HIS VIDEO GAME WITH FRIENDS
00:04:16I HAD BEEN PLAYING VIDEO GAMES WITH HIM THAT NIGHT
00:04:19AND I DO REMEMBER HIM TALKING
00:04:22AND HE WAS SAYING I'M TEXTING THIS GIRL
00:04:25HER USERNAME WAS BELLAJANET28
00:04:28AND SHE WAS MESSAGING HIM ON INSTAGRAM
00:04:31FIRST MESSAGE WAS HEY YOU'RE CUTE
00:04:34ARE YOU IN THE ARMY
00:04:35GAVIN BEING A TEENAGE BOY
00:04:37JUST REPLIED BACK
00:04:39THANKS YOU'RE NOT TOO BAD YOURSELF
00:04:41OR YOU KNOW JUST STARTING THE CONVERSATION
00:04:43WHO DID HE THINK BELLAJANET WAS
00:04:46GAVIN THOUGHT THAT BELLAJANET
00:04:48IT WAS A COLLEGE GIRL PLAYING BOLLEYBOL
00:04:52THE CONVERSATION TURNED FLIRTATIOUS
00:04:58AND THEN OF COURSE I THINK THEY EXCHANGED INAPPROPRIATE PICTURES
00:05:03AS SOON AS GAVIN SENT HIS PICTURE THE FLIRTING STOPPED
00:05:35BELLAJANET
00:06:05HE WAS VERY QUIET
00:06:07TWICE I SHOULDERED THE DOOR AND I YELLED FOR MY WIFE TO CALL 911
00:06:11ONE
00:06:18GAVIN WAS LAYING IN BETWEEN
00:06:21THE TUB AND THE TOILET
00:06:24STAND IN LINE WITH ME
00:06:26AND THE ONLY THING I'M THINKING IS IF I CAN STOP HIM BLEEDING
00:06:30THEN WE CAN GET HIM HELP
00:06:33AND EVEN TRYING TO PUT PRESSURE TO FEEL FOR A PULSE I COULDN'T STOP IT
00:06:41AND I COULD FEEL IT FADING VERY QUICKLY
00:06:46I COULD I COULD FEEL THE LIFE LEAVING
00:06:58AND I REMEMBER SITTING OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE THAT NIGHT
00:07:02I'M GOOGLING WHAT DO I DO MY SON JUST COMMITTED TO HIS SIDE
00:07:10I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT GAVIN WAS A VICTIM OF SEX TORTION
00:07:15FRAUD BY PHONE AND THE INTERNET
00:07:17THIS NATION IS SURGING
00:07:19GAVIN GUFFY WAS ONE OF THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
00:07:21WHO'VE FALLEN VICTIM TO A GROWING EPIDEMIC OF ONLINE SCAMS
00:07:25TELL ME ABOUT HOW THE SCAM FIRST BEGAN FOR YOU
00:07:28THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND FRONTLINE HAVE SPENT MORE THAN A YEAR
00:07:31INVESTIGATING THIS SHADOWY WORLD
00:07:34WOULD YOU BE THE ONLY PERSON IN TOUCH WITH A CERTAIN TARGET
00:07:38OR WOULD THERE
00:07:39NO
00:07:40INTERVIEWING PERPETRATORS, VICTIMS, AND OFFICIALS
00:07:43HOW MUCH DID YOU LOSE IN TOTAL?
00:07:46812,000
00:07:47AND REVIEWING THOUSANDS OF NEVER BEFORE SEEN DOCUMENTS
00:07:55IT'S A WORLDWIDE CRIMINAL INDUSTRY STEALING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR
00:08:00THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE INDUSTRIALIZED FRAUD
00:08:04POWERED IN MANY CASES BY ORGANIZED CRIME, TRAFFICED LABOR, AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY
00:08:10ALL THESE WHITE DOTS ON THE ROOFS HERE ARE SATELLITE INTERNET TERMINALS
00:08:14AND INCREASINGLY AI
00:08:15THIS IS A BRAVE NEW WORLD THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW
00:08:18WHERE LIKE ESSENTIALLY YOU'RE NOT GOING TO KNOW IF YOU'RE TALKING TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING
00:08:21UNLESS YOU'RE IN THE SAME ROOM AS THEM
00:08:23WHILE GOVERNMENTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP
00:08:27IT'S A MASSIVE MASSIVE CRIME
00:08:37FEDERAL PROSECUTORS HAVE EXTRADITED A NIGERIAN MAN WHO WAS INDICTED IN A SEXTORTION CASE
00:08:42IN 2025 A NIGERIAN MAN WAS EXTRADITED TO THE U.S. TO FACE CHARGES FOR CARRYING OUT THE SCAM THAT
00:08:49LED TO GAVIN GUFFY'S DEATH
00:08:50SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRANDON GUFFY EMOTIONAL
00:08:54SEEING THE ACCUSED MAN BROUGHT BACK FOR TRIAL
00:08:56THIS WHOLE PROCESS
00:08:57BUT EAGER TO CONTINUE PUSHING FOR JUSTICE
00:09:02IT'S JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT FIGHT
00:09:04THE SUSPECT HASSANBUN HUSSEIN LOWAL HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY AND IS AWAITING TRIAL
00:09:10IN RECENT YEARS AT LEAST SEVEN OTHER ALLEGED SCAMMERS HAVE BEEN EXTRADITED FROM NIGERIA IN CONNECTION WITH OTHER SUICIDE CASES
00:09:19AROUND THE U.S.
00:09:20WE HAD BEEN HEARING ABOUT THE GROWING NUMBER OF SUICIDES IN THE UNITED STATES AMONG TEENS WHO HAD BEEN EXTRADITED
00:09:27AND WE KNEW FROM THE FBI THAT THEY HAD TRACED A LOT OF THOSE
00:09:32CRIMES TO NIGERIA SO WE WENT TO NIGERIA TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCAM
00:09:38WE ARRIVED IN NIGERIA NOT LONG AFTER THE FBI
00:09:41ANNOUNCED A CRACKDOWN OPERATION WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES THAT LED TO THE ARREST OF 22 SUSPECTED SCAMMERS AROUND HALF WERE ALLEGEDLY
00:09:50INVOLVED IN SCAMS THAT LED TO A SUICIDE THESE PERPETRATORS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE AGGRESSIVE CHARLES SMITH IS THE
00:09:58FBI'S ATTACHE IN NIGERIA
00:10:00WHAT DREW THE FBI HERE TO NIGERIA WELL IT WAS AN INCREASE AN INCREASE IN REPORTING INCREASE IN VICTIMS TRAGICALLY
00:10:11SUICIDE VICTIMS AMONGST YOUNG TEENAGERS AND MOST OF THE PERPETRATORS WERE FROM WEST AFRICA
00:10:20ARE THESE MOSTLY SORT OF PEOPLE WORKING ON THEIR OWN OR ARE THERE CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS BEHIND THEM
00:10:25SOMETIMES THEY OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY SOMETIMES THEY OPERATE IN SMALL GROUPS
00:10:30AND YOU CAN HAVE ONE PERPETRATOR YOU CAN HAVE AS MANY AS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR TWO TO THREE HUNDRED VICTIMS
00:10:36ONE PERPETRATOR RESPONSIBLE FOR TWO TO THREE HUNDRED VICTIMS
00:10:40CAN YOU TELL US HOW MUCH MONEY THESE GUYS ARE MAKING
00:10:43WELL IT DEPENDS AND IT VARIES THE PERPETRATOR CAN DEMAND IS SOMETHING AS LITTLE AS I'VE PERSONALLY SEEN
00:10:51$15 AND IT CAN GO ALL THE WAY UP TO THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THE VICTIM IS USUALLY A YOUNG PERSON
00:10:58A TEENAGER
00:10:58SO THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO VAST AMOUNTS OF MONEY
00:11:02HOW DO THEY SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THIS A JOB TO THEM IS THIS A GAME TO THEM HOW
00:11:07DO THEY SEE THEIR VICTIMS
00:11:08IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET INSIDE THE HEAD OF A PERPETRATOR BUT SOME INDIVIDUALS IT'S PART OF THEIR ROLE IN A
00:11:15JOB
00:11:16ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE PART OF AN ORGANIZED NETWORK
00:11:18AND OTHER THAN INDIVIDUALS IT'S THE AVENUE OF WEALTH FOR THEM IT'S FOR FINANCIAL GAIN
00:11:24SO THERE'S NO EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO THE VICTIM
00:11:31INTERNET FRAUD HAS BLENDED WITH OUR MUSIC INDUSTRY THAT IT IS HARD TO DIFFERENTIATE WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S NOT
00:11:37THERE IS QUITE A LARGE SUBCULTURE IN NIGERIA WHERE THIS ACTIVITY IS COMPLETELY NORMALIZED
00:11:46THERE'S MUSIC THAT CELEBRATES THIS, VIDEOS
00:11:54THERE ARE SCRIPS THAT CIRCULATE ONLINE THAT THEY CAN CUT AND PASTE FROM TO TARGET THEIR VICTIMS
00:11:58THERE ARE GROUPS OF PEOPLE THAT GET TOGETHER TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE AND TIPS AND TACTICS
00:12:02THE BARRIERS TO ENTRY ARE VERY VERY LOW
00:12:05SOME SCAMMERS EVEN HAVE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES
00:12:09YAHOO BOYS
00:12:12IT GOES BACK TO YAHOO MAIL
00:12:14IN THESE CYBER CAFES
00:12:16YEARS AND YEARS AGO PEOPLE WOULD START THESE YAHOO ACCOUNTS
00:12:19AND IT BECAME KNOWN AS THEY WERE YAHOO BOYS
00:12:21BECAUSE THEY WERE RUNNING SCAMS ONLINE
00:12:22AND THE NAME IS JUST KIND OF STUCK
00:12:24MANY TIMES PEOPLE HAVE DESCRIBED THIS YAHOO BUSINESS
00:12:27IT'S ALMOST AS IF IT'S A VICTIMLESS CRIME
00:12:30IF YOU SUPPORT YAHOO
00:12:32THEREFORE YOU SHOULD CLAP
00:12:33YOU SHOULD CELEBRATE WHEN ANOTHER MAN SCAMS YOU
00:12:36THERE'S A REAL ACTIVE DEBATE
00:12:38I THINK IN NIGERIAN SOCIETY
00:12:40THE HEAD OF THE ECONOMIC CRIMES COMMISSION
00:12:43HAS CALLED SCAMMERS YAHOO BOYS A NATIONAL SHAME
00:12:46BUT THE PEOPLE WE SPOKE WITH
00:12:48HAD SO LITTLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
00:12:51THIS WAS THE ONE WAY THAT THEY SAW FORWARD IN LIFE
00:12:55ARE WE GOOD TO GO?
00:12:59THROUGH CONTACTS WE MADE
00:13:01WE WERE ABLE TO TALK TO SEVERAL SCAMMERS
00:13:04INCLUDING ONE NAMED IOMEDE
00:13:05WE MET IN LAGOS
00:13:07OKAY SO HOW DID YOU GET
00:13:09WHEN DID YOU FIRST START DOING SCAMS?
00:13:17LAST TWO YEARS?
00:13:20HOW DID YOU LEARN HOW TO DO THIS?
00:13:24I LEARN FROM YOUR FRIEND
00:13:26YOU JUST LIKE
00:13:28IT'S SO SIMPLE WAY
00:13:30GO ON TIKTOK
00:13:31CREATE A PAGE
00:13:33LIKE CREATE A SCAM PAGE
00:13:37ADD PICTURES
00:13:38THEN YOU CAN NAME YOURSELF ANY NAME
00:13:41JUST ANY NAME
00:13:42THEN YOU START TAKING TO THEM
00:13:44SO THIS IS YOUR CHARACTER
00:13:46EVA FROM CALIFORNIA
00:13:47YEAH
00:13:48HOW DID YOU CREATE HER?
00:13:50LIKE WHERE DID YOU GET THE PICTURE?
00:13:51ON GOOGLE
00:13:52YOU JUST DOWNLOADED THIS PICTURE?
00:13:54YEAH
00:13:55TELL ME HOW IT WORKS
00:13:56WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE MONEY?
00:13:59OKAY
00:13:59HOW TO MAKE MONEY IS
00:14:00WHEN YOU OPEN TIKTOK
00:14:01THEN YOU START CHATING
00:14:03ASK FOR HIS NAME
00:14:06WHERE HE'S FROM
00:14:07DID HE HAVE KIDS
00:14:08OR NO
00:14:09IS HE MARRIED
00:14:10SINGLE
00:14:10SO FROM THERE
00:14:11YOU COLLECTED HIS NUMBER
00:14:12TAKEN TO
00:14:14MAYBE PRIVATE APP
00:14:15WHERE YOU CAN
00:14:17TALK
00:14:17SO
00:14:19FROM THERE
00:14:20MAYBE
00:14:21YOU'RE ASKING
00:14:22WHAT IS HE LOOKING FOR
00:14:23ON TIKTOK
00:14:23MAYBE
00:14:24WHO COPS
00:14:25OR DATING
00:14:27CAN YOU SHOW ME A CHAT
00:14:29WHERE YOU WERE THREATENING
00:14:30TO POST SOMEONE'S NUDES?
00:14:32THIS IS A SMALL BOY
00:14:34LIKE
00:14:35HE'S FROM CANADA
00:14:36WHERE DID YOU MEET HIM?
00:14:38I MEET HIM ON TIKTOK
00:14:40YAP
00:14:41TIKTOK
00:14:41THEN WE STARTED CHATING
00:14:42HE SENT YOU A PICTURE
00:14:44AND THEN YOU SENT HIM BACK
00:14:47THE NUDE THAT HE SENT YOU
00:14:49YEAH
00:14:49AND YOU THREATENED
00:14:50I'M GOING TO SHOW THIS PICTURE
00:14:52TO ALL YOUR FOLLOWERS ON TIKTOK
00:14:53YES
00:14:54HE SENT YOU 50
00:14:55AND THEN HE SENT YOU MORE MONEY
00:14:58BUT YOU KEEP ASKING FOR MORE
00:14:59YES
00:14:59BECAUSE THE DEAL
00:15:00THAT WAS NOT
00:15:01THE DEAL
00:15:02THE DEAL IS 150
00:15:04HE'S GONNA GET ME 150
00:15:05THAT WAS ALL THE DEAL
00:15:06SO
00:15:07THAT'S WHY I KEEP ASKING FOR MORE
00:15:10BUT ACTUALLY
00:15:11NO PLANNING TO POST
00:15:12THE PICTURES
00:15:14ON INTERNET
00:15:17HAVE YOU EVER POSTED ANYONE'S
00:15:18NAKED PICTURES ONLINE?
00:15:20NO
00:15:21NO
00:15:24THIS WAS A BIG CASE IN THE UNITED STATES RECENTLY
00:15:27MAYBE YOU HEARD ABOUT IT HERE TOO
00:15:29IT WAS THIS 17-YEAR-OLD BOY
00:15:32AND HE SHOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD
00:15:34BLOOD TO DEATH IN HIS DAD'S ARMS
00:15:40THAT'S BAD
00:15:43AND
00:15:44THERE'S BEEN LIKE MORE THAN 50 KIDS
00:15:46AROUND THE WORLD WHO'VE KILLED THEMSELVES
00:15:49BECAUSE OF STUFF LIKE THIS
00:15:51HAS ANYBODY EVER THREATENED TO KILL THEMSELF
00:15:53THAT YOU'VE TALKED TO?
00:15:54NO
00:15:56NO
00:15:56NO ONE
00:15:57DO YOU EVER FEEL BAD ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
00:16:01YEAH
00:16:02I DO FEEL BAD BUT
00:16:04AS A MAN YOU HAVE TO MAKE MONEY
00:16:07RIGHT
00:16:09UM
00:16:10DO YOU THINK MUCH ABOUT
00:16:13THE PEOPLE YOU'RE SCAMMING?
00:16:15ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS?
00:16:17YES
00:16:18YES
00:16:19I DO
00:16:20WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT?
00:16:22I THINK ABOUT THAT SCAMMING IS NOT GOOD
00:16:25BUT
00:16:27WE HAVE TO MAKE MONEY
00:16:29THAT'S
00:16:30THAT'S ALL
00:16:31THAT'S ALL
00:16:34SUSPECTS
00:16:35LINKED TO CRYPTOCURRENCY INVESTMENT FRAUD
00:16:38WERE APPREHENDED DURING A SURPRISE OPERATION IN
00:16:42VICTORIA ISLAND
00:16:43LAGOS
00:16:44DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
00:16:46THE SCAMMING INDUSTRY HAS CONTINUED TO THRIVE HERE
00:16:49IN ONE CASE
00:16:50NIGERIAN AUTHORITIES DISCOVERED NEARLY 800 PEOPLE IN AN OFFICE BUILDING IN LAGOS
00:16:55ALLEGEDLY WORKING ON VARIOUS FORMS OF FINANCIAL SCAMMING
00:16:59AROUND A QUARTER OF THEM WERE FOREIGNERS
00:17:02WHO HAVE BECOME A GROWING PART OF THE SCAM INDUSTRY
00:17:05IT WAS AMAZING BECAUSE
00:17:07THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INVOLVED
00:17:09THE NUMBER OF RESOURCES DEPLOYED INTO THIS CRIME
00:17:12AND THE MODUS OPERANDE WAS WORRISOME
00:17:15MICHAEL WETKES HELPED LEAD THE OPERATION
00:17:18FOR NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION
00:17:21HAD YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL CAREER?
00:17:25NO, IT'S LIKE A DREAM
00:17:29IF YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURE
00:17:31YOU CANNOT IMAGINE THAT PEOPLE IN THAT KIND OF NUMBER
00:17:34WILL BE IN ONE PLACE
00:17:35TRYING TO MASTERMINE SOMETHING FOR THEM LIKE THAT
00:17:38WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS TEACHES US
00:17:40ABOUT THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF CYBER CRIME?
00:17:44SCARY
00:17:44I'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO COME TO TERMS OF THE QUANTUMENT OF MONEY
00:17:47INVESTED IN THAT PARTICULAR FRAUD
00:17:49SO IF PEOPLE PERPETRATING THIS ARE SINKING THAT KIND OF AMOUNT OF MONEY
00:17:53WE NEED TO COMMIT FRAUD AND WE HAVE A LOT TO BE AFRAID OF, ISN'T IT?
00:17:56IT'S A PROBLEM ALL OVER THE WORLD
00:17:58IT'S A PROBLEM FOR NIGERIANS
00:18:00WITHIN NIGERIA ITSELF
00:18:01JUST AS IT IS A PROBLEM FOR THE WORLD ITSELF TOO
00:18:04SO THAT IS WHY WE SAY IT'S A GLOBAL MENACE
00:18:07THAT WE HAVE TO ALL FIGHT TOGETHER
00:18:09ALL OF US ARE POTENTIAL VICTIMS
00:18:11AND THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TO FIGHT IT LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
00:18:14I FELL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE THROUGH WORDS
00:18:19AND WUND UP SHATTERED BEYOND RECOGNITION
00:18:21EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE LEGITIMATE
00:18:24HIS SOUL INTENT WAS TO STEAL EVERY CENT I OWN
00:18:27THEY STOLE $25,600 FROM ME
00:18:3145 GRAND
00:18:32ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS
00:18:344.28 MILLION US DOLLARS
00:18:37SCAMS AFFECT EVERYONE
00:18:39EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS VULNERABLE TO SCAMS IN A DIFFERENT WAY
00:18:43I SPOKE WITH PEOPLE WITH ADVANCED DEGREES
00:18:47DOCTORS, LAWYERS, I.T. PROFESSIONALS
00:18:49PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH COMPUTERS AND WORK WITH THE INTERNET
00:18:53AND THEY WERE SCAMMED
00:18:55I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM THE SCAMMER
00:18:57A POLICE IMPOSTER
00:18:58HE PROMISED TO LOVE ME
00:19:00SPEND HIS LIFE WITH ME
00:19:01EVERY PROMISE CAME WITH DEADLINES
00:19:03PRESSURE TO ACT QUICKLY
00:19:05AND SO I REALLY WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THIS WORLD
00:19:08AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE
00:19:10WHEN YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A SCAM
00:19:12EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM APPEARED LEGITIMATE
00:19:14WE TALKED ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP
00:19:17WE WERE WILLING TO EXPLORE BETWEEN US
00:19:19THIS HAS FOREVER TREACHED HOW I SEE THE WORLD
00:19:21I DO NOT TRUST ANY TECHNOLOGY
00:19:25I AM NOW PARANOID QUESTIONING EVERYTHING
00:19:29YOU KNOW SOME OF THESE SCAMS CAN HAPPEN IN A MATTER OF MINUTES
00:19:32SOME OF THEM CAN TAKE MONTHS OR YEARS
00:19:35AND THEY'RE EVOLVING ALL THE TIME
00:19:36I MEAN WHEN PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE SMARTPHONES
00:19:38RIGHT?
00:19:39THE TYPES OF SCAMS
00:19:40THE WAY THAT PEOPLE WERE BEING REACHED BY SCAMMERS
00:19:42IT WAS DIFFERENT
00:19:43BUT NOW THERE'S SO MUCH ACCESS
00:19:45THAT ANYTHING CAN BE SPOOFED
00:19:48AND BECOME A SCAM
00:19:49AND THEN THERE ARE ROMANCE SCAMS OF COURSE
00:19:52PEOPLE FALLING IN LOVE WITH PARTNERS ONLINE
00:19:56WITH BIG PROMISES OF HAPPY ENDING
00:20:00BEAUTIFUL SHARED FUTURE
00:20:02SOME OF THE PEOPLE I INTERVIEWED FOR THIS PROJECT
00:20:07WERE GENEROUS AND BRAVE ENOUGH
00:20:11TO SHARE TRANSCRIPTS WITH ME
00:20:14I'M TALKING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MESSAGES
00:20:17BUT A LOT OF THEM KEEP IT SECRET
00:20:21SEVERAL VICTIMS I SPOKE TO
00:20:22I WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT THEY'VE EVER TOLD
00:20:25ONE OF THE PEOPLE SHE SPOKE WITH WAS THIS MAN
00:20:28WHO HAS NEVER TOLD MOST OF HIS FAMILY
00:20:30WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM
00:20:32I CAN'T KNOW
00:20:33I DON'T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT
00:20:34YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN
00:20:35YOU KNOW I COULD CRY
00:20:37YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT
00:20:39IT'S BAD
00:20:40BAD
00:20:42IN 2023 HE WAS LIVING IN NEW YORK
00:20:45RECENTLY WIDOWED
00:20:46AND USING AN ONLINE DATING SITE
00:20:48WHERE HE MET SOMEONE CLAIMING TO BE A WOMAN NAMED EMILY
00:20:52HER PICTURES WERE STOLEN
00:20:54ASSEMBLED INTO A FAKE PERSONA
00:20:56A 37-YEAR-OLD WHO SAID SHE'D LIVED ALL OVER THE WORLD
00:21:00AND WAS NOW IN FLORIDA
00:21:02I JUST TOLD THAT I WAS TALKING TO A WONDERFUL GIRL
00:21:08WHAT DID SHE TELL YOU ABOUT HERSELF?
00:21:12SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND
00:21:17AND THE BOYFRIEND SHE TOLD HER THAT THEY SPLIT UP
00:21:21SHE SHARED MANY OF HIS INTERESTS
00:21:24AND WHILE HE WAS WEALTHY
00:21:26SHE CLAIMED TO BE EVEN WEALTHIER
00:21:28EMILY WAS TELLING ME THAT SHE OWNED A 51-FOOT YAT
00:21:33THAT IT WAS FOR SALE BECAUSE SHE'S THINKING TO BUY A BIGGER ONE
00:21:38BEFORE LONG SHE WAS TELLING HIM ABOUT HER CRYPTOCURRENCY INVESTMENTS
00:21:43SHE WAS TELLING ME THAT IF I WANT TO START
00:21:46SHE GUIDED ME VERY, VERY CAREFULLY ON WHAT TO DO
00:21:50WHICH APP TO DOWNLOAD
00:21:52AND SHE DESCRIBED HERSELF AS YOUR TEACHER
00:21:56YES, SHE SHOWED ME DIFFERENT ITEM TO INVEST IN
00:22:02AND YOU WERE JUST PERFECT
00:22:05COLLECT FANTASTIC INTEREST
00:22:07AND WHAT DID THOSE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE?
00:22:09I MEAN, HOW MUCH MONEY WERE YOU SEEING KIND OF IN YOUR ACCOUNT?
00:22:13FROM 500,000, MY BALANCE GREW UP TO A MILLION TWO
00:22:17BUT WHEN HE TRIED TO WITHDRAW THE MONEY HE'D INVESTED, HE HIT A SNAG
00:22:22I CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE AT WEP 361CC TO REQUEST THE MONEY TO BE SENT TO MY BANK
00:22:29AND THEY TOLD ME THAT I NEED TO PAY A MINUS FEE
00:22:32WHICH IS 20% OF MY INVESTMENT
00:22:37WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE HEARING THIS?
00:22:40HAVING SOMEONE SAY, OH, YOU NEED TO INVEST MORE THAN 100,000 MORE DOLLARS?
00:22:44I ALREADY PUT 500,000
00:22:46I SAID I'M GONNA HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE I'M GONNA LOSE IT
00:22:49THE CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM TOLD HIM THERE WAS A SECOND CONVERSION FEE
00:22:54THEY GUARANTEE ME, OH, YEAH, YEAH, PAY THAT FEE
00:22:57THE NEXT DAY YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY IN THE BANK
00:23:00ALL RIGHT, SO I PAY THAT FEE
00:23:03BUT UNBEKNOWANCE TO HIM
00:23:04THE CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM WAS ALSO PART OF THE SCAM
00:23:08AFTER PAYING MORE THAN 300,000 DOLLARS IN FEES
00:23:11HE STILL COULDN'T WITHDRAW HIS MONEY
00:23:14AT THAT TIME I REALIZED I WAS DEFINITELY IN A SCAM
00:23:18HOW MUCH DID YOU LOSE IN TOTAL?
00:23:21812,000
00:23:23THAT'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY
00:23:24I DON'T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT
00:23:27THEY'RE JUST A, YOU KNOW
00:23:31THIS VICTIM TRIED TO REPORT HIS CRIME
00:23:35TO THE FBI AND THE LOCAL POLICE
00:23:37AND LIKE SO MANY SCAM VICTIMS
00:23:39REALLY NOTHING, NOTHING CAME OF IT
00:23:42THE FBI AND LOCAL POLICE DECLINED TO TALK TO US ABOUT THIS CASE
00:23:47IN A STATEMENT, THE FBI SAID IT TAKES SCAMS AND FRAUDS SERIOUSLY
00:23:51BUT CAN'T COMMENT ON INDIVIDUAL CASES TO PROTECT PRIVACY
00:23:56AFTER THREE YEARS, NEITHER THE SCAMMER EMILY
00:23:59NOR THE MONEY HAS BEEN FOUND
00:24:03BUT WE FOUND EVIDENCE FROM THIS SCAM FAR FROM THE U.S.
00:24:06IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRY OF MYANMAR
00:24:09USING THE ONLINE PLATFORM TELEGRAM
00:24:12REPORTER MARTHA MENDOZA WAS ABLE TO TALK TO A MAN WHO TOLD HER
00:24:16HE WORKED AT A COMPOUND THERE FILLED WITH OTHER SCAMMERS
00:24:20OVER THE COURSE OF DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS
00:24:23HE EXPLAINED HOW THE BUSINESS WORKED
00:24:25EVERYBODY WORKING IN A SCAM COMPOUND HAS A JOB TO DO
00:24:29AND THERE'S A MANAGER KEEPING TABS
00:24:30AND SO THERE'S SOMEBODY WHOSE JOB IT IS TO JUST CHIT-CHAT
00:24:34WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
00:24:35THERE'S SOMEONE WHOSE JOB IT IS TO LUR THEM IN
00:24:37THERE'S SOMEONE WHOSE JOB IT IS TO DO THE CRYPTO PART OF IT
00:24:41AND ALL THE WHILE, ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PEOPLE
00:24:43ARE ALL PRETENDING TO BE ONE PERSON
00:24:45AND THEN HE TOLD ME, I'M GOING TO DROP YOU SOME DOCUMENTS
00:24:49YOU BETTER DOWNLOAD THEM FAST
00:24:51AND WHEN I OPENED THEM UP, THERE IT WAS
00:24:54THE INNER WORKINGS OF A SCAM COMPOUND
00:24:56MORE THAN 10,000 PAGES
00:24:59WHAT ARE THE WORKING RECORDS THAT SHOW
00:25:03HOW TO GO ABOUT THESE SCAMS?
00:25:04I FELT LIKE I HAD JUST GOTTEN THE PLAYBOOK
00:25:09THERE WAS A FIVE-STEP PLAN FOR HOW TO
00:25:12MANIPULATE PEOPLE PSYCHOLOGICALLY
00:25:15THEY CALL IN THIS EMOTION BUILDING
00:25:16IT'S ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD TOWARD THE RELATIONSHIP
00:25:19ALWAYS BUILDING MORE OF WHAT'S TO COME IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP
00:25:23ONE OF THE CATEGORIES OF DOCUMENTS WE FOUND
00:25:25WERE WHAT THEY CALLED BIOS OR PROFILES
00:25:28AND THEY HAVE NOTES IN THEM THAT DESCRIBES WHO THIS PERSON IS
00:25:33THIS PERSONA WHO IS SCAMMING A VICTIM
00:25:35AND I WAS SHOCKED BY THE LEVEL OF DETAIL IN THEM
00:25:39I'M LOOKING AT AILENE, SHE'S JAPANESE
00:25:42HER JAPANESE NAME IS SAKAMOTO
00:25:44HER AGE IS 36, HER BLOOD TYPE IS A
00:25:47THE HOBBIES INCLUDE THINGS LIKE WATCHING MOVIES, SWIMMING AND INVESTING
00:25:51IT DESCRIBES THE PERSONALITY AND WHAT I CAME TO UNDERSTAND IS
00:25:54THAT THE NEXT PERSON TO COME ALONG
00:25:56AND HAVE THE SAME, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT SHIFT OF THE SCAMMING
00:25:59ALSO NEEDS TO HAVE THIS PERSONALITY
00:26:01AND THAT'S WHY THESE DETAILS WITHIN THESE PROFILES MATTERED SO MUCH
00:26:06AND THERE AMONG THE PROFILES WAS EMILY
00:26:10EMILY'S SCAM COVERED HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF SCRIPTS
00:26:15THE VICTIM THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE CONVERSING WITH EMILY IN ENGLISH
00:26:19BUT THE SCRIPT THAT I GOT WAS IN BAHASA, IN INDONESIAN
00:26:24THIS SCAMMER DOESN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH
00:26:26THIS WHOLE THING WAS HAPPENING IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
00:26:28AND WAS BEING TRANSLATED IN REAL TIME
00:26:31SOME DAYS EMILY WAS CHEERFUL AND BUZZY
00:26:35SOME DAYS EMILY WAS VERY SAD AND NEEDED SOME CONSOLING
00:26:38SOME DAYS SHE WAS JUST CHECKING IN
00:26:41BUT AT EACH STEP THEY'RE JUST GETTING TO KNOW ONE MORE LITTLE DETAIL ABOUT THEM
00:26:45THAT THEY CAN THEN WEAVE BACK INTO THEIR RELATIONSHIP
00:26:50THE DOCUMENTS AND OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SOURCE FROM THE SCAM COMPOUND
00:26:54DETAILLED NOT JUST THE HIGHLY ORGANIZED NATURE OF THE INDUSTRY
00:26:58BUT ALSO POINTED TOWARD WHO WAS BEHIND IT
00:27:01CHINESE CRIME NETWORKS THAT HAVE ALIED WITH OTHER CRIMINAL GROUPS
00:27:05AND POWER BROKERS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
00:27:08PARTICULARLY IN CAMBBODIA
00:27:10THEY CAME AND STARTED CONSOLIDATING POWER
00:27:13BY BUILDING CLOSE CORPORATE, PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
00:27:17WITH THE RULING ELITE IN THAT COUNTRY
00:27:20JACOB SIMS IS AN EXPERT IN TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
00:27:23WHO HAS STUDIED THE RISE OF THE SCAM INDUSTRY IN ASIA
00:27:26INCLUDING ONE OF ITS ALLEGED KEY FIGURES
00:27:30A BUSINESSMAN NAMED CHEN ZHUR
00:27:32WHO BECAME A PERSONAL ADVISER TO CAMBBODIA'S PRIME MINISTER
00:27:36ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
00:27:38CHEN ZHUR IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL, WEALTHY, AND WELL-CONNECTED CRIMINALS IN THE WORLD
00:27:43HE'S THE FOUNDER OF PRINCE GROUP, WHO ACTUALLY CAME TO CAMBBODIA
00:27:47AND STARTED THROWING AROUND NOT MILLIONS, BUT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
00:27:51DEVELOPING REAL ESTATE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
00:27:56EVENTUALLY, HIS COMPANIES EXPANDED INTO THE CASINO BUSINESS
00:28:00ONE OF CAMBBODIA'S HOTTEST INDUSTRIES
00:28:03CAMBBODIA HAS BEEN A LARGE CASINO MARKET FOR QUITE SOME TIME
00:28:07PERMISSIVE GOVERNMENT ENVIRONMENTS, LOTS OF EASE FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE MONEY BACK AND FORTH
00:28:13IT'S BEEN A MAJOR ASSET STORAGE LOCATION FOR CRIMINALS ACROSS THE REGION FOR MANY, MANY YEARS
00:28:18CAMBODIA SAYS IT IS BANNING ONLINE GAMBLING AND WILL STOP ISSUING LICENSES TO PRESERVE PUBLIC ORDER
00:28:24IN 2019, THE CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT ISSUED A UNIVERSAL BAN ON ONLINE GAMBLING IN THE COUNTRY
00:28:30AND SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS YOU SAW ALL OF THESE TECH-ENABLE CASINOS
00:28:34THAT HAD ALL OF THE TOOLS AND MODERN INSTRUMENTS IN THE WORLD TO LAUNDER MONEY
00:28:39AND THEN THE START OF THE PANDEMIC
00:28:41MILLIONS OF PEOPLE UNDER QUARANTINE
00:28:43THESE ONCE THRIVING CASINOS WERE THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN JUST EMPTY
00:28:47BUT ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN
00:28:50THESE ARE VERY LARGE SPECULATIVE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
00:28:53AND SO EFFECTIVELY ALMOST OVERNIGHT YOU STARTED SEEING THEM REPOPULATE
00:28:57AND WHAT THEY FOUND VERY VERY QUICKLY WAS THAT LONG CON CRYPTO-BASED INVESTMENT SCAMS
00:29:04WERE ACTUALLY FAR MORE LUCRATIVE THAN ONLINE GAMBLING
00:29:08ALL BUT A HANDFUL OF STATES HAVE ISSUED STAY AT HOME ORDERS
00:29:11IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE DURING THIS PANDEMIC
00:29:13MANY OF THE CASINOS ESSENTIALLY BECAME SCAM COMPOUNDS
00:29:17WHICH INCREASINGLY TARGETED WESTERNERS
00:29:20SPENDING MORE AND MORE TIME ONLINE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC
00:29:24I DON'T THINK ANY OF THESE DYNAMICS WERE CREATED BY COVID
00:29:28BUT COVID WAS ABSOLUTELY AN ACCELERANCE
00:29:31ZWIKA KRIEGER WAS WORKING AT FACEBOOK AS THE PANDEMIC GOT UNDERWAY
00:29:35YOU SAW A MASSIVE UPTICK IN SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
00:29:38PEOPLE WERE TRAPPED INSIDE THEIR HOMES
00:29:41THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO HAVE FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION
00:29:43AND SO IT BECAME A LIFELINE FOR PEOPLE
00:29:45IT BECAME A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE COULD FIND CONNECTION
00:29:48RELATIONSHIP, INTIMACY, SOCIAL OUTLET
00:29:51AND SO SKYROCKETING NUMBERS THAT WE SAW DURING COVID
00:29:56AND THE INTERSECTION OF THE SORT OF RAPID GROWTH OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE
00:30:02THE EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY THAT PEOPLE WERE EXPERIENCING
00:30:06AND THEN THE SORT OF RAPID RISE OF E-COMMERCE
00:30:09I THINK ALL KIND OF CONGEALED TO CREATE A PERFECT STORM
00:30:13AROUND SCAMS
00:30:16POLITICAL UNREST IN MYANMAR ADDED TO THE OPPORTUNITIES
00:30:20AFTER NEARLY A DECADE SHARING POWER WITH CIVILIANS
00:30:24MYANMAR'S MILITARY STAGED A COUP
00:30:29ARMED MILITIAES TEAMED UP WITH ORGANIZED CRIME GROUPS
00:30:33MANY OF THEM CHINESE
00:30:35AND BEGAN BUILDING DOZENS OF NEW HEAVILY GUARDED COMPOUNDS
00:30:39HOUSING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SCAMMERS
00:30:42WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK
00:30:43ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC PIECES OF EVIDENCE
00:30:47ABOUT THE SCALE AND THE GROWTH
00:30:49IS TO LOOK AT IMAGES FROM 2020
00:30:52AND YOU SEE THAT IT WAS A FIELD
00:30:54AND THEN YOU LOOK AT 2022 AND YOU REALIZE,
00:30:57OH MY GOD, THERE'S A WHOLE CITY HERE.
00:31:00HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
00:31:01ERIN WEST IS A FORMER U.S. PROSECUTOR
00:31:04WHO WORKED ON A SPECIAL UNIT WITH THE FBI AND SECRET SERVICE
00:31:07FOCUSED ON CYBER CRIME.
00:31:10STARTING IN MARCH OF 2022, WE WERE SEEING VICTIMS
00:31:13OF A CRIME THAT WE HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE,
00:31:17WHERE VICTIMS ARE GETTING HIT WITH ROMANCE AND CRYPTOCURRENCY
00:31:22AND THEN LOSING ALL OF THEIR MONEY.
00:31:25HERE'S WHY IT'S DIFFERENT.
00:31:27IT'S BEING DONE AT A SCALE THAT WE HAVE NEVER SEEN
00:31:31AND NEVER EVEN ANTICIPATED.
00:31:33IT'S BEING DONE IN AN INDUSTRIAL MANNER
00:31:35OUT OF MASSIVE COMPOUNDS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
00:31:40AND GROWING AROUND THE WORLD.
00:31:42IT'S MISERABLY HOT OUT HERE AND STEAMY,
00:31:46BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WE GOT THE ACCESS.
00:31:49WEST NOW RUNS AN ANTI-SCAM ORGANIZATION.
00:31:51AND HAS TRAVELED TO THE MYANMAR-THI BORDER
00:31:54TO SEE THE SITUATION FIRSTHAND.
00:31:57MYANMAR'S BEAUTIFUL.
00:31:58THAT THI AREA IS BEAUTIFUL.
00:32:00AND YOU GET UP ON THIS OVERLOOK AND YOU LOOK DOWN
00:32:03AND THERE'S A COMMUNITY DOWN THERE.
00:32:05AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE A RESORT.
00:32:08IN FACT, IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST SCAM COMPOUNDS
00:32:11IN THE WORLD, KNOWN AS KK PARK.
00:32:15THE THI MILITARY HAS GIVEN US ACCESS TO THIS AREA
00:32:18JUST ACROSS THE MOE RIVER FROM KK PARK.
00:32:21AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE ARE DEFINITELY PEOPLE LIVING IN THERE.
00:32:25TONS OF LAUNDRY HANGING FROM BUILDINGS.
00:32:28AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSER TO THE RIVER, YOU'LL SEE THE CEMENT WALL
00:32:31THAT DIVIDES US FROM THEM WITH BARBWIRE OVER THE TOP.
00:32:36KK PARK IS THE MOST NOTORIOUS AND ONE OF THE EARLIEST BUILT SCAM COMPOUNDS.
00:32:45IT WAS WHERE SCAMMERS PROVED THIS COULD BE DONE.
00:32:49THAT WE COULD BUILD A CITY AND WALL OFF THE REST OF THE WORLD
00:32:53AND COMMIT HORRENDOUS CRIMES.
00:32:57TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE ESTIMATED TO HAVE WORKED HERE AT ITS PEAK.
00:33:02MANY WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE TRAVELING TO LEGITIMATE JOBS IN THAILAND,
00:33:05ONLY TO BE TRAFFICKED INTO MYANMAR.
00:33:09THE BUILDINGS WITH THOSE RED ROOFS THAT LOOK LIKE MONOPOLY HOTELS,
00:33:13THOSE ARE DORMITORIES HOUSING THOUSANDS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKED WORKERS.
00:33:19YOU NEED A LOT OF PEOPLE BEHIND SCREENS TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT
00:33:25TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HIT WITH THESE SCAMS.
00:33:29AND SO TO DO THAT, TO GENERATE THE HUMAN POWER THAT THEY NEEDED,
00:33:33THEY HAD TO TRAFFICK PEOPLE IN.
00:33:35THEY HAD TO TRICK PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING.
00:33:40THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HUSBAND OF A WOMAN NAMED TU,
00:33:44WHO WE MET IN VIETNAM.
00:33:47SHE TOLD US HER HUSBAND HOC HAD LEFT ON THE PROMISE OF A RESTAURANT MANAGER JOB IN THAILAND.
00:33:53THOSE THAT WAS A RESTAURANT MANAGER.
00:34:14A CIDADE NO PANSAI
00:34:43Hock's journey ended at K.K. Park.
00:35:03For years before Hock was trafficked, thousands of workers had fallen for the same kinds of promises and wound up
00:35:10in scam compounds.
00:35:12In January 2025, one case put a spotlight on the practice.
00:35:18A Chinese actor named Wang Xing was lured to Thailand on the promise of a film role.
00:35:24When he arrived, he was instead taken over the border to a scam compound in Myanmar.
00:35:30Back in China, people began raising alarms on social media.
00:35:45The public outcry led to his return in January 2025.
00:35:50The army just went rapid and just pushed me into the car.
00:35:55When someone important gets touched by this scam, that's when people move to action.
00:36:02And that's exactly what happened.
00:36:04A multinational crackdown on scam compounds in Myanmar.
00:36:08A few weeks later, an operation by Thai, Chinese, and Myanmar authorities led to the release of more than 7
00:36:15,000 other captives from multiple compounds.
00:36:19So over the last several years, Chinese law enforcement have conducted selective targeted raids against scam compounds all over the
00:36:29region that were believed to be targeting Chinese people.
00:36:32And that's resulted in tens of thousands of people being extradited back to China.
00:36:39There was Chinese pressure put on these militia groups that were controlling the area where the Chinese organized crime syndicates
00:36:48were operating these scam facilities.
00:36:50And while it was claimed by some that it was a crackdown, what it really was is, I think, of
00:36:57a layoff.
00:36:59I think of a shakedown of the bosses being asked to, OK, you've got to give up some people. Give
00:37:06me some people.
00:37:07Despite that crackdown and increased public attention, scam compounds continued to operate and lure more workers, like Hawk.
00:37:42In October 2025, four months after he had left home,
00:37:46she heard from Hawk, she heard from Hawk. He was free.
00:37:52Myanmar forces had moved into KK Park.
00:38:06The journey home took several days.
00:38:09He took photos along the way.
00:38:13The AP filmed with the family as they were reunited.
00:38:27He told us what it had been like inside the notorious scam compound.
00:38:31What were they told them?
00:38:59The most
00:39:10Ele disse que ele foi derrubado depois de ter planejado para escapar,
00:39:13e mostrou uma foto que ele tirou de himself surreptitiously.
00:39:24Em documentos que nós obtemos de uma source de Minas,
00:39:27em relação ao Rio de Janeiro,
00:39:27nós vimos que os cidadãos de acordo com os funcionários
00:39:30com severos punições,
00:39:33incluindo confinamento de solitário.
00:39:38Human rights groups
00:39:39têm reportado e publicado
00:39:40instances de vítimas e abusos
00:39:42across a região.
00:39:46Violência,
00:39:47extreme violência,
00:39:48violência-lível violência,
00:39:51excessivo exercício,
00:39:53deprimência de comida e água,
00:39:54morra-vindos,
00:39:55posicionais de expirar a água e água,
00:39:57morra-vindos,
00:39:58morra-vindos,
00:39:59morra-vindos,
00:40:00morra-vindos,
00:40:01morra-vindos,
00:40:03morra-vindos.
00:40:06Em seguida,
00:40:07os militares de banho-vindos
00:40:10no Brasil,
00:40:11de uma parte do KK Park.
00:40:18Em Campos,
00:40:19uma série de cerca de profilo
00:40:21O que é isso?
00:40:23Estou em um lugar!
00:40:25Estou em um lugar!
00:40:27Mas para os vítimos
00:40:29caught up em escams,
00:40:30o long-lasting damage
00:40:32já havia sido feito.
00:40:52Você sabe,
00:40:53um...
00:40:54um...
00:41:00Alice Lin was 79
00:41:02e retired in California
00:41:03quando, em 2022,
00:41:05a stranger contacted her
00:41:07on the Chinese messaging app WeChat.
00:41:09He called himself Justin.
00:41:11Um...
00:41:12um...
00:41:13um...
00:41:17um...
00:41:21um...
00:41:29um...
00:41:32um...
00:41:46despedida de saúde.
00:41:47Ele disse...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47um...
00:41:47A near-death experience.
00:42:17You know, I just have that sympathy for him.
00:42:20So he's being vulnerable with you.
00:42:22Yeah.
00:42:23Yeah.
00:42:24I think again and again, he was kind of building up the trust.
00:42:29He told her he was worth over $100 million.
00:42:32And then he said he could teach me.
00:42:35He told me that, you know, just follow his instruction and then download some app.
00:42:41At that time, I thought I could trust him, not only that he, but we had the same language, same
00:42:50religion.
00:42:51And also he built himself as an image of a billionaire.
00:42:58I don't think he will ever take my money.
00:43:02I just totally follow what he say, step by step.
00:43:08Following his instructions, she sent more than a half a million dollars to what she thought was a cryptocurrency trading
00:43:14app.
00:43:15On screen, her investment appeared to double.
00:43:19He told me that, you know, the more money you put in, the more benefit, more, you know, more gain
00:43:27you will receive.
00:43:28Justin pushed her to invest more.
00:43:31So she turned to her children.
00:43:33I decided I would just ask my older daughter, you know, to borrow a little bit money from her.
00:43:40So my older sister said, is there a reason why mom needs money?
00:43:43I said, no, I don't, not that I know of.
00:43:46And then, and then we realized it was a scam.
00:43:50It was straight out of the scam playbook.
00:43:52Fake identity, fake trading app.
00:43:55And then I think it was shocking because then you think, oh my gosh, this is actually her life, you
00:44:01know, her life savings.
00:44:03The scammer knew I'm retired and I'm old.
00:44:07And to do that, it's a, it's a hard for me to take.
00:44:13Last sentence, the scammer say before he left, he said,
00:44:24What do you think he means?
00:44:26I think deep in his conscience, you know, with the way that I lose all the money and most of
00:44:33people cannot take it.
00:44:35They, they probably kill themselves.
00:44:38I really want to commit suicide.
00:44:42Really us?
00:44:43Yeah, yeah, because I, the situation, I cannot handle it.
00:44:55So he asked me, are you still alive?
00:44:59I told myself I'm alive and I'm going to fight back.
00:45:05She reported what had happened to the FBI and local police.
00:45:14Alice Lynn sued her bank under a very unique to California statute that says that knowingly assisting somebody who is
00:45:22preying on a senior citizen is equal to committing the crime yourself.
00:45:27The bank said it had multiple layers of protection.
00:45:30There was a teller who talked to her and said, you know, are you sure you know what you're doing?
00:45:34And she insisted, but in the end, that was the legal basis for the lawsuit.
00:45:41The bank ultimately settled without admitting any guilt, saying instead it was going to cost more money and be more
00:45:49difficult perhaps to deal with this lawsuit.
00:45:52So she, Alice Lynn, walked away with an undisclosed settlement that she says was satisfactory.
00:45:59The bank denied any knowledge of the fraud, but the hundreds of thousands of dollars she converted to crypto and
00:46:06sent to the scammers was gone.
00:46:12We asked Arie Redboard at TRM Labs, which tracks cryptocurrency crime, to see if he could find it.
00:46:19Essentially in crypto, every transaction is traceable, trackable, and immutable, meaning it's there forever.
00:46:26Because every transaction occurs on a blockchain, which is an open public ledger.
00:46:31But it remains today, this cat and mouse game, right?
00:46:34Bad actors are trying to take those funds that they've taken from a victim and move them as fast as
00:46:39they can, ultimately off-chain, so they can convert them to cash and run away with them, if you will.
00:46:46TRM followed her money to a crypto wallet containing $18 million.
00:46:52So Alice's funds are being sent to this wallet along with all these other victims, which gets you to that
00:46:57$18 million.
00:46:59What they're doing is they're taking Alice's funds and sending it through a whole series of intermediary wallets, basically to
00:47:05obfuscate that flow of funds.
00:47:07But eventually, and it's almost true in every case, you ultimately end up at a cryptocurrency exchange.
00:47:13Essentially, exchanges allow cash for crypto, crypto for cash.
00:47:17Once the funds move to the exchange, these bad actors will, as fast as they possibly can, convert those funds
00:47:23and then move them into traditional currencies.
00:47:27Alice's case is a pretty standard case.
00:47:30But the reality is that what we're seeing here is the scaling of fraud, the industrialization of fraud.
00:47:36This is a highly organized network that isn't just, hey, like looking out there for one individual at a time
00:47:43to scam.
00:47:43We're seeing hundreds of people scammed at the same time and the same infrastructure being used.
00:47:49Until recently, Rebecca Keithley helped lead the FBI's National Financial Crimes Program.
00:47:56Scams over the past eight years, as reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, have grown exponentially.
00:48:02Last year alone, in 2025, $17.7 billion were reported lost through cyber-enabled fraud or scams, comprising 453,000
00:48:13complaints.
00:48:14Last year, it was 39,000 lost per victim.
00:48:18It's become more lucrative.
00:48:20Cryptocurrency is one of the things that's fueled the exponential growth in scamming victimization over the past decade.
00:48:26Because it's difficult to trace.
00:48:28Once the money's been put into crypto, it can move between wallets very quickly across international lines.
00:48:36One can think of it as instant money laundering.
00:48:39The victim is putting the funds into the platform.
00:48:44And then it's just gone.
00:48:45Yeah.
00:48:46According to the FBI, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies for scammers is Tether,
00:48:52whose flagship token is pegged to the U.S. dollar.
00:48:55so its value doesn't fluctuate like other cryptocurrencies.
00:49:00But that stability comes at a price.
00:49:03Tether is considerably easier to freeze.
00:49:07Issuers like Tether can freeze funds in a way that you can never do with cash.
00:49:13Stablecoin issuers have really unique capabilities when it comes to compliance.
00:49:18They are actually able to burn or essentially seize their native token anywhere in the wild.
00:49:24We can't do this with anything else.
00:49:26We can't do this with Bitcoin.
00:49:27We can't do this with Ethereum.
00:49:28But stablecoin issuers are able to do that.
00:49:31It's all this cat and mouse game because law enforcement is using tools to track and trace these flow of
00:49:36funds.
00:49:37Tether and others have this capability to burn and reissue.
00:49:40But bad actors want to get their funds in a stable asset and then ultimately off-ramp them as fast
00:49:46as possible.
00:49:47It is imperative that those criminally involved in this crime are brought to justice.
00:49:51Matt Noyes directs cyber policy at the Secret Service, which can have assets and currencies used in scams blocked or
00:49:59frozen.
00:49:59When I look at the assets that are being frozen or blocked, it seems like it's almost all Tether.
00:50:05Yes.
00:50:06Why is that?
00:50:07Ultimately, their goal in using crypto is to move the assets.
00:50:11And so they want stable value.
00:50:13Tether is the largest stablecoin by far.
00:50:16And so that becomes the most attractive medium for them.
00:50:20Hello, everyone.
00:50:21We are here because there are way too many Americans getting scammed.
00:50:26Brian Glick started a podcast about scams after he lost $575,000 in one three years ago.
00:50:34What's your goal with doing this?
00:50:36I want all those scammies out there to know that through education comes empowerment.
00:50:43Glick had sent money to the scammers using Tether.
00:50:46He later provided the FBI with his financial transactions, which helped them track what happened.
00:50:52You could identify the money.
00:50:54Yeah, I have the transactions, the accounts to and from where they went, and it was all on the blockchain.
00:51:02All of it.
00:51:02And you could identify this Tether with this code is my money.
00:51:06That's correct.
00:51:07He could do that.
00:51:08The FBI wouldn't do an interview about the case.
00:51:12Glick provided us emails he received that show how the FBI asked Tether to freeze the funds,
00:51:18but the company told them it couldn't.
00:51:20This is not me saying that it's my money.
00:51:23It's the FBI saying it.
00:51:24And here's all the evidence.
00:51:26I was hopeful, hopeful, hopeful, and then it just fell.
00:51:29The floor fell from under me.
00:51:31I knew I was never getting my money back.
00:51:33And I, it felt terrible.
00:51:37In the emails, the FBI urged Tether to freeze Glick's money, even though it had been commingled
00:51:43with other people's funds, and the company was balking at doing so.
00:51:47In a statement, Tether told us it could not, quote, arbitrarily freeze funds of unrelated
00:51:53users without proper process.
00:51:55They've made a number of announcements of where they've assisted us in freezing assets.
00:52:00It's one of the challenges of this new form of finance, and it's one of our constraints
00:52:04in working on this.
00:52:06Are they doing enough?
00:52:07When you look at the volume going through it, it's clear they could be doing more.
00:52:12That's the more important thing, is they need to be doing more.
00:52:14They're working towards doing more.
00:52:16Paolo Arduino is the CEO of Tether, whose cryptocurrency is also known as USDT.
00:52:23There are enormous amount of cases in which we work with law enforcement and we FBI, which
00:52:29is on board.
00:52:30The reason why I said the FBI is on board on Tether, because that's the only way that
00:52:34restitution can happen, right?
00:52:36We are not law enforcement.
00:52:38Tether has been under federal scrutiny in recent years, even as it has cooperated with
00:52:44authorities to stop a number of scams.
00:52:46So, first of all, our competitors, even the stablecoin business, they wait for a judge
00:52:53order to freeze.
00:52:54We get a notification from law enforcement and we freeze.
00:52:59I mean, you know that's not always true, right?
00:53:01Like, we saw NYPD and other law enforcement who have gone to Tether and said, please, even
00:53:06in this one with Mr. Glick, they're saying, please freeze us, and Tether is saying we can't
00:53:10I'm not familiar with a specific case, but usually we would need...
00:53:14We need to take some time, go through this document, and see exactly what happened.
00:53:19Then, of course, there is a process.
00:53:20It has to provide some proof.
00:53:22So, I don't know the case in specific, but I think that there is no company, even in the
00:53:28banking industry, in the traditional financial industry, that is so helpful as us.
00:53:32Okay.
00:53:33I'm worried, though.
00:53:34I'm worried someone's going to watch this.
00:53:36And if they're watching this, and they're thinking, well, that's actually not too risky
00:53:40because USDT could freeze my money.
00:53:42We can follow it down the blockchain.
00:53:43Is that a reasonable takeaway?
00:53:46If a criminal is trying to use USDT or stable coins that are centralized, they are very stupid
00:53:56criminals.
00:53:57So, we will freeze illicit activity on USDT.
00:54:04And so, again, if I'm putting my money in USDT, I am getting an assurance from you then that
00:54:10you would freeze that if it's a mistake or a scam investment.
00:54:15We are working.
00:54:16We are working with law enforcement.
00:54:17We are not above the law.
00:54:19We are working with law enforcement to ensure that our actions are in line with law enforcement
00:54:26and with the proper judicial system.
00:54:32Last year, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned dozens of individuals and entities linked to
00:54:38cyber currency scams, including Chen Xur and the Prince Group companies in Cambodia.
00:54:45In October of 2025, the Eastern District of New York announced the seizure of $15 billion
00:54:52in Bitcoin, and simultaneously, the U.S. Treasury Department, the FCDO, and the U.K.
00:54:58announced joint sanctions against him and against his transnational criminal organization,
00:55:04which is called Prince Holding Group.
00:55:06The $15 billion Bitcoin seizure was the largest criminal asset seizure in history when it took place.
00:55:14Chen himself was indicted in the U.S., but arrested in Cambodia and sent back to Beijing.
00:55:21Chinese authorities touted the arrest and called Chen the ringleader of a major criminal syndicate.
00:55:27The Chinese government put pressure on the Cambodian government and secured his extradition.
00:55:33There's a famous image of him being walked off a plane, a black bag being pulled off of his head,
00:55:39and then he's being rolled into a Chinese prison, probably with none of the evidence about him
00:55:45ever to see the light of day again.
00:55:49My take is that China saw this all happening.
00:55:52Shenzi likely flew a little too close to the sun, so China pulled him back before the U.S.
00:55:58could ultimately get their hands on him to really do a full debrief, full criminal trial,
00:56:03to really learn as much as we possibly can.
00:56:06If you read the indictment, it's very clear that Shenzi and Prince Group had connections
00:56:11at the highest level of the Cambodian government, but also within Chinese intelligence circles.
00:56:17The Prince Group told us in a statement that the allegations are demonstrably false and that
00:56:22Chen is a victim of a geopolitical tug-of-war resulting from a flawed U.S. indictment.
00:56:29Since that $15 billion seizure, which currently just sits in a crypto wallet and, frankly,
00:56:35the value fluctuates by the billions, the U.S. government has set up what's called the
00:56:39Scam Center Strike Force.
00:56:41Morning, everyone.
00:56:42I'm Janine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington.
00:56:46This new Strike Force mission is to identify and charge the leaders of these cryptocurrency
00:56:52scam organizations to trace and to seize the stolen funds.
00:56:58That Strike Force says it has seized close to a billion dollars' worth of scam proceeds.
00:57:02And what our investigation found is that victims aren't getting their money back.
00:57:08Mom and pop, who gave away their money and mortgaged their house or even had to sell their house,
00:57:14that money being held by the U.S. government as a scam proceed is not making it back to the
00:57:19people who lost it.
00:57:21We tried to talk to Janine Pirro and officials from the Scams Task Force, but they declined
00:57:27to be interviewed.
00:57:28A spokesperson reiterated that they are aggressively targeting scams and said they could not get
00:57:34into any specifics about each seizure, where the funds are held, or what, if anything,
00:57:40has been returned to the victims.
00:57:45As for the authorities in Southeast Asia, the Cambodian government recently claimed that
00:57:50claimed it was winning its fight against the scam industry in the country, but our reporting
00:57:55has continued to find evidence of it persisting in the region, particularly in Myanmar.
00:58:02So this image is from April 4th of this year.
00:58:07Eric Heinz researches human trafficking and cyber scams at the non-profit International Justice
00:58:13Mission.
00:58:14We have a compound here that's under construction, we have a cluster of humanitarian-type tents
00:58:19that are probably being used to run scams, and then we have an empty field here where there's
00:58:24really not even groundwork being done.
00:58:27And then in the span of two months, two and a half months, we have this entire complex that's
00:58:32been built, and we have numerous satellite antennas on the roofs here, which indicates that
00:58:37people are inside and they are running scams from this location.
00:58:41Heinz has identified more than two dozen scam compounds in Myanmar that have been built or
00:58:46expanded in the past year.
00:58:49So this is another example where in the beginning of April, we have prep work going on, but there's
00:58:54no buildings, no scam infrastructure.
00:58:57And then by the end of June, we have numerous buildings here that are being used for scams.
00:59:03Here's another one that is, you know, beginning of April, we have some prep work, we have some
00:59:08tents, and then by the end of May, we have multiple buildings here, which are consistent with the
00:59:14scam compounds we've seen in other areas.
00:59:17Disruption is good, but it needs to be consistent.
00:59:19And going in and just closing one compound, or going in and doing something for a month,
00:59:23and then calling it a day is not enough.
00:59:26You need to continue to go after the compounds, we need to go after the infrastructure that they're using.
00:59:34Some of the most critical infrastructure comes from an American company.
00:59:39So we can see this compound popped up over the span of a few months.
00:59:43And we can see that all these white dots on the roofs here are all satellite internet terminals.
00:59:49And with some of the device data, we can actually see that they're connecting to the internet field Starlink.
00:59:57Starlink is the U.S. satellite internet service founded by Elon Musk.
01:00:02You can't scam unless you can get online.
01:00:05If you're sitting in the middle of a jungle in Myanmar, how are you going to get online?
01:00:10Starlink is a great answer for you.
01:00:13We've seen the use of Starlink at these scam compounds.
01:00:20Late last year, there was this big crackdown on scam compounds in Myanmar.
01:00:29Starlink comes out and says, hey, we are here as a force for good.
01:00:32We're going to cut off service at 2,500 kits around these scam compounds.
01:00:36So when they want to, they can cut service to scammers.
01:00:39What happened next?
01:00:40We saw the user base in Myanmar of Starlink fall in half.
01:00:46That tells you that a lot of its users are scammers.
01:00:50Then it started to grow back again.
01:00:53And now it looks like local internet service providers and Starlink are really the biggest players.
01:01:00So this is from commercially available at SecData.
01:01:04We've used this in various trafficking cases.
01:01:06This shows location, IP addresses.
01:01:09With the help of Eric Heintz, we found that scammers at more than a dozen of the new or expanded
01:01:15compounds in Myanmar were using Starlink last spring.
01:01:20So with just commercially available information, we can see the exact coordinates and the exact IP addresses that these terminals
01:01:26are using.
01:01:27So it should be possible to go in and shut off specific devices at specific locations.
01:01:32We know that these compounds rely very heavily on Starlink services.
01:01:36And if they were able to shut these off and consistently block access to these known compounds, some of which
01:01:43are city-sized,
01:01:45we know that that would severely hamper the ability of these scams to operate.
01:01:50Starlink would not respond to our requests for comment.
01:01:53The company has said it works with law enforcement around the world and is committed to detecting and preventing misuse
01:02:00by bad actors.
01:02:02Starlink is really the first link in this digital supply chain that links scammers in Myanmar with victims in the
01:02:09United States.
01:02:10We looked at device data from four compounds in Myanmar and found that American companies were being disproportionately used by
01:02:18scammers.
01:02:18One in five signals was being carried by a U.S. company.
01:02:21These are names that you would recognize.
01:02:24This is Cogent Communications, AT&T, Oracle, DigitalOcean.
01:02:28There's other companies like the Canadian company, G.T. Host, UpCloud, a finished company that are running servers in the
01:02:34United States.
01:02:35This is all within U.S. jurisdiction.
01:02:38And scammers are abusing these services and technologies to scam people in the United States.
01:03:02This is a problem that is impacting Americans in every corner of the country, and it is unacceptable to continue
01:03:10the status quo.
01:03:11The role of American technology in helping scammers victimize Americans is the subject of an ongoing congressional investigation led by
01:03:20Senator Maggie Hassan.
01:03:22We began hearing from constituents about these scams.
01:03:25I mean, my small towns in New Hampshire, the scams that get reported to police are adding up to like
01:03:30$2 million a year in a small town of like 15,000 people.
01:03:34And people are losing their life savings, so just time to take action.
01:03:38Can they call the police and get some help?
01:03:40It depends.
01:03:41They can call the police.
01:03:42They can also report it to the FTC.
01:03:44Right.
01:03:45But there is no centralized hub and centralized law enforcement response.
01:03:51We are reaching out to the private sector.
01:03:53The technologies at issue are peer-to-peer payment platforms.
01:03:57It's telecom.
01:03:59It's satellite internet access.
01:04:01It's dating apps, right?
01:04:03And it's AI.
01:04:04Those are all technologies that have led to this exponential increase in scams and the devastation that they're causing.
01:04:12All of these technologies are ones that are being exploited to the great detriment of individuals.
01:04:19And ultimately, they're going to undermine the success of these companies, too.
01:04:22Because if people become timid about using dating apps, using peer-to-peer payment platforms, that undermines these companies' economic
01:04:32viability.
01:04:32One of the things we're trying to do is educate consumers.
01:04:36But we also, of course, have to pull in these companies.
01:04:39We need to make sure that there are some guardrails in place.
01:04:50After Gavin passed, the kids come by and painted rocks out in front of the house.
01:04:57It was just a way of remembering.
01:04:59You can see there's some that are holding up well.
01:05:01In the case of Gavin Guffey's death, the alleged scammer continued targeting his family for days after the suicide.
01:05:09This actually was something Gavin painted.
01:05:12Shortly afterwards, I got a message from an aunt that her son, 14-year-old, which was Gavin's cousin, was
01:05:21getting extorted online.
01:05:23And it was about Gavin.
01:05:24And whenever she sent me the images and sent me the screenshots of what was being said, I realized that
01:05:31this was bigger.
01:05:32Now, the person that was contacting him, the name was Bella Janet 30.
01:05:37So, same profile picture, looked the same, just a different name online.
01:05:43And as I'm showing my wife that this Bella Janet 30 is sending these messages, it's talking about Gavin, my
01:05:5116-year-old walks out of his room.
01:05:53And he just picks up the phone, and he says, I don't know who the hell you are, but quit
01:05:58calling me.
01:06:00I look at his phone, and it's Bella Janet 30.
01:06:03I start looking at my messages, and I've got tons of messages.
01:06:08The scammer was threatening to release images of Gavin if he didn't get paid.
01:06:13This was within the week of us trying to bury Gavin.
01:06:18Instagram had quickly taken down Bella Janet 28, the account used to blackmail Gavin, but not Bella Janet 30, even
01:06:27though they were registered to the same phone number.
01:06:30This person didn't just have one profile.
01:06:33This person had numerous profiles, and they only pulled Bella Janet 28.
01:06:38And I kept thinking, why didn't they take the rest of these accounts down?
01:06:42At some point, the big tech companies have to be held responsible, because they are providing the tools.
01:06:50No one from Meta, which owns Instagram, would agree to an interview.
01:06:55In a statement, the company said it disabled three accounts targeting the Guffys as soon as it became aware that
01:07:02its policies against child sexual exploitation were being violated.
01:07:06It said it works closely with industry peers and law enforcement to fight and disrupt scammers.
01:07:13In July 2024, the company removed around 63,000 Nigerian Instagram accounts linked to sextortion.
01:07:23And as part of a recent court settlement with attorneys general around the country,
01:07:28Meta has instituted new safeguards on teen accounts, along with new child protection policies.
01:07:36Social media, especially these big services, should be a hostile environment.
01:07:41Like, you shouldn't be able to step foot in it if your mission is to scam kids, to scam other
01:07:47people, to hurt others.
01:07:49Arturo Bejar was a safety executive at Facebook.
01:07:53My work has shown that it doesn't need to be this way.
01:07:56He has since become a vocal critic and told us that even with the new changes, the company needs to
01:08:03be doing more to stop scams on the platform.
01:08:07You could tell a teenager before they send something to a stranger.
01:08:12Okay, slow down.
01:08:14I'm sure you want to do that.
01:08:16Answer me three questions.
01:08:18And also just acknowledge that if you don't know them, this might happen.
01:08:23And if one teenager gets paused and says, oh yeah, realize this is bulls**t now.
01:08:28Yeah.
01:08:28Then you use that information and you go scorched earth on everybody who's using that playbook and all those things.
01:08:34And you use features to detect similar things and you delete all of them.
01:08:38And these platforms have the tools to detect them.
01:08:42Zvika Krieger led a team that helped strengthen safety tools during his time at Meta.
01:08:47The scammers are so far ahead of the tech companies, it seems to me.
01:08:52Is there any way to catch up to that?
01:08:54Tech companies are the most sophisticated technologists in the world right now.
01:09:00And so I have yet to confront a challenge where if the company put the amount of resources that it
01:09:07put behind its core business model or its core products,
01:09:11if they put it behind these challenges, they would be able to resolve it.
01:09:15It's a choice.
01:09:16But I think that at the end of the day, a lot of the solutions will introduce friction into the
01:09:23user experience.
01:09:24And that will come at a cost to the companies.
01:09:27The first place that you could introduce friction is when people create an account, put in a name, put in
01:09:32an email address, put in your birthday, boom, you got an account.
01:09:36But if you were to require that someone has a government issued ID, even just the act of someone reaching
01:09:42into their pocket, pulling out their ID,
01:09:44taking a photo of it and scanning it, someone might be like, oh, I don't care about this product that
01:09:48much.
01:09:49I'm not going to. This is a pain in the butt. I'm not going to do it.
01:09:51And I think that there needs to be a real reckoning when you're looking at metrics like growth and metrics
01:09:59like revenue and time spent on app.
01:10:03Like those are important. But when you're like when you're in a company that is among the biggest companies in
01:10:08the world, that is minting money, making billions and billions of dollars.
01:10:13It's like not unreasonable to say, like, hey, slow down, slow your growth a little bit in order to protect
01:10:19people.
01:10:19It doesn't feel like an unreasonable thing to ask.
01:10:22In its statement to us, Metta said, we agree more can be done. And that's what we're doing.
01:10:30Brandon Guffey is part of an ongoing multi-district lawsuit against Metta and other social media companies to try to
01:10:37force more changes.
01:10:38But he has also been advocating for stronger laws to prevent online scams.
01:10:44This crime is so horrific because it targets all of our shame.
01:10:48A bittersweet celebration in downtown Rock Hill, a ceremonial bill signing for Gavin's law.
01:10:56After Gavin died, I felt like there was change needed on many fronts.
01:11:01Number one, we needed awareness about what is going on.
01:11:05No one was talking about this is your most shameful moment.
01:11:08Number two, we needed legislative change.
01:11:10This community, our state, everyone has rallied together to get this passed.
01:11:17And what we have done is we have sent the message.
01:11:21Whenever you lose a child or something like this trauma happens, it's almost like having a five-gallon bucket of
01:11:30water.
01:11:30But instead of it being able to fill up to make you happy, it's got a bunch of holes in
01:11:34it.
01:11:35So each wind fills it up temporarily and then it drains out quickly.
01:11:39After helping pass a new law in his home state of South Carolina, he took the fight to Washington.
01:11:45To all those who held a photo today, if we're able to be successful, your loved one did not die
01:11:52in vain.
01:11:53Senator Graham and Senator Durbin had me come up and participate in a press conference
01:12:00to where I was able to tell a little bit about Gavin's story.
01:12:03I think the message was clear, and that's these companies can either get it in line or they need to
01:12:08get offline.
01:12:09I would say that's the first time in D.C. I've really been able to share my story.
01:12:14Since that hearing, I was able to start working with more and more senators.
01:12:21While we as lawmakers fight amongst ourselves, will it take one of your own children or grandchildren
01:12:26to finally get fed up enough to move?
01:12:28Big Tech is the big tobacco of this generation.
01:12:32That opened up the door to work with Senator Cruz and Senator Klobuchar on the Take It Down Act
01:12:37to work with the First Lady on the Take It Down Act.
01:12:41Representative Guffey, would you please share what happened with your son?
01:12:45Thank you, Senator Cruz.
01:12:47July 27, 2020.
01:12:48So the Take It Down Act is legislation that states that any images that are put up online and reported,
01:12:57you can demand that the platform take them down within 48 hours.
01:13:01It would allow families to be able to have those images taken down
01:13:05and to have the voice that my son did not have.
01:13:12There was no recourse of being able to know to be able to get these images down.
01:13:17And in his mind, no one had his back.
01:13:25Take It Down Act passed in May of 2025.
01:13:29It was one of those moments that was, I guess, my most proud moments.
01:13:38What's this feel like for you?
01:13:41Every time we hit a milestone, I feel like it's going to make me feel great,
01:13:45and then it never fills that hole.
01:13:48Yeah.
01:13:48So it's great to remove the images.
01:13:50But until we get big tech to really start standing up and doing what's right to protect our children,
01:13:55I don't know that we can.
01:13:58Now, I don't think the Take It Down Act is a perfect bill by any means,
01:14:01but it's a first step in many things that we can do.
01:14:06More people are losing more money than ever before to scammers.
01:14:10Artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere.
01:14:12AI is making it easier for people to dupe folks.
01:14:16The adversary is getting harder to beat.
01:14:19And I think AI is also playing a big role in changing the game.
01:14:25Absolutely, right?
01:14:26Somebody used to have 15 phones, a scammer, 15 fake profiles,
01:14:31doo-doo-doo, you know, hello, Erica, how are you?
01:14:33Now AI scales that to the extreme.
01:14:37Now they can, you know...
01:14:38Over the year, Frontline and the AP have been reporting on scams.
01:14:42The problem has continued to evolve and become even harder to combat.
01:14:46Well, what AI has done is it's made it possible for just about anyone to scam just about anyone else.
01:14:52And increasingly, you may not even need to have the human bodies doing the scamming as much
01:14:57because of what you're finding.
01:14:59Last year, for the first time, the FBI began tracking AI-enabled fraud
01:15:04as a separate category of scams.
01:15:07Artificial intelligence has supercharged the scamming ecosystem.
01:15:14We've always seen deep fakes, but artificial intelligence is making it easier for scammers
01:15:21to develop more convincing content at scale.
01:15:26That could be more grammatically accurate correspondence.
01:15:30It could be videos, sound bites.
01:15:33And so it's definitely impacting the ecosystem.
01:15:37Bankers are saying that they are seeing more fraud cases.
01:15:40And it's really targeting senior citizens.
01:15:43They say the scams start off as a simple online friendship.
01:15:48AP created a quiz, like a little test, to see if viewers can identify AI-generated images.
01:15:57This is the pill that can cure your cancer.
01:15:59This is the pill that can cure your cancer.
01:16:00The Senate has a special committee that works to keep older Americans informed about managing their money.
01:16:06And it's incredibly tricky.
01:16:09And people who are taking this quiz are failing.
01:16:17I think that the scam industry is heading like a rocket ship towards the AI universe.
01:16:24You can just have an army of AI avatars scamming people.
01:16:30Hi, Isabella.
01:16:31Thought I should make a video.
01:16:32But that same technology can also be used against scams.
01:16:36So what do we need to do?
01:16:37Okay, first I think you need an idea of a profile.
01:16:40Okay, you need sex for you.
01:16:42Is it a woman?
01:16:43At the Institute of Economic Crime Investigation in Switzerland,
01:16:46We met criminologist Olivier Baudet-Lebrecq,
01:16:50who has been working with European banks to help shut down scams.
01:16:54We wanted to use Gen AI technologies, such as very intelligent chatbots,
01:16:59directly against scammers,
01:17:02to collect information that could be used to prevent such problems.
01:17:07He runs a team that builds autonomous chatbots that pose as victims.
01:17:12So how does that work?
01:17:13So the scammer thinks that he or she is scamming a real person,
01:17:19a real victim, while in fact it's a robot.
01:17:21And the robot collects information such as payment data
01:17:25that is used by the scammer to collect money.
01:17:27So our customers are banks,
01:17:29and with the data we share with them,
01:17:31they can better protect their customers
01:17:32and also prevent money laundering related to online scams.
01:17:38He showed us an active scam he was tracking
01:17:40using a chatbot he named Linda.
01:17:43A scammer approached her using the image of a prominent retired general.
01:17:48I love this one. He's an American.
01:17:50Okay.
01:17:50He's a four-star general retired from the U.S. Army.
01:17:54It amazes me that you can create that.
01:17:56It's like an entirely false world, you know?
01:17:58The scammer is fake, but also your bot is fake.
01:18:01And it's just this completely fake reality.
01:18:04Yeah, and sometimes it's worse.
01:18:06It's a chatbot against a chatbot.
01:18:09It would be interesting to try to experiment with these,
01:18:12ourselves with these bots that you have created for your company.
01:18:15With Baudela Breck's help, we created fake victims.
01:18:19So this is the picture we took from you that will be used for a profile.
01:18:24The first was adapted from Erica Kienitz's image.
01:18:27What's her name again?
01:18:29It's Karen Mitchell.
01:18:30Karen.
01:18:30We called her Karen, a divorced woman in her 60s living in California.
01:18:35Nice to meet you, Karen.
01:18:37She was targeted by several suspected scammers.
01:18:41Karen was meeting all these interesting men.
01:18:44There was one in particular who was a doctor who would send her images of red roses all the time.
01:18:49You know, it was lovely.
01:18:50So they had this months-long conversation that was quite romantic.
01:18:53And then he's like, well, you can invest with my cryptocurrency advisor
01:18:57and sort of pushed her over into a crypto scam,
01:19:00a very common pattern that we saw widespread among the victims that we spoke with as well.
01:19:07We created another chatbot called Travis, based on one of our producer's images.
01:19:12Follow me if you want to talk.
01:19:15Over nine months, a slew of AI-generated images showed up in Travis's feed.
01:19:20Emily visited your profile 30 times, and she really liked you.
01:19:24I don't usually do this, but your photo made me stop and pick.
01:19:27Can I send you a message?
01:19:29Some were offering romance.
01:19:31Could you ever fall in love with a cute 27-year-old U.S. girl?
01:19:34Other scammers were offering easy money working from home.
01:19:38The recruiter told Travis he could make hundreds of dollars a week from home on his own time.
01:19:43Oh, but you have to pay a VIP membership fee in order to make more money.
01:19:48And what was amazing to me, this very simple task scam,
01:19:52we looked at the crypto wallets that the payments were supposed to go to,
01:19:57and TRM Labs found that this very simple scam had pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single
01:20:04week.
01:20:06He started telling me how much profit I could make.
01:20:10Then they systematically upsold me.
01:20:11Sending him money as a business loan.
01:20:14I think that technology is going to allow this industry to balloon even further.
01:20:19As AI becomes ubiquitous on the Internet,
01:20:23it's going to be more and more difficult to discern
01:20:26what is a fake image and what is a real human being.
01:20:31So if you look to the future, it's only going to get harder to be able to tell what's real,
01:20:36to be able to tell who's a scammer, to be able to defend yourself on your own.
01:20:40Literally fell to the floor in disbelief.
01:20:43We're in an epidemic stage in scams activity right now.
01:20:48He took $10,000.
01:20:50And to think about it scaling 10x, 100x, 1,000x, 24-7 type of activity,
01:20:55I think is really harrowing.
01:20:57I realize now I was talking to AI.
01:21:00This is a brave new world that we're in right now.
01:21:02We're like, essentially, you're not going to know if you're talking to another human being
01:21:06unless you're in the same room as them.
01:21:09Scams have gone on as long as people have been around.
01:21:12I'm more skeptical of people and the content I see and hear.
01:21:16The difference, what's happening today,
01:21:18is that this has become a global attack on human trust.
01:21:36Do you sometimes have a sense of Gavin with you on this?
01:21:41Yes, all the time.
01:21:45Whenever I go to Gavin's grave,
01:21:49I look for four-leaf clovers.
01:21:53I don't know why,
01:21:54but I feel like if I can find a four-leaf clover,
01:21:57then that's him acknowledging that I'm there.
01:22:02And I know that's stupid, superstitious,
01:22:05but it's one of them things.
01:22:08And I feel like it's him cheering me on whenever.
01:22:11Like, if I find a four-leaf clover,
01:22:13he's like, you're doing good, Dad.
01:22:14Like, that's it.
01:22:15Let's go.
01:22:15Let's go.
01:22:22Let's go.
01:22:52A CIDADE NO BRASIL
01:23:00A CIDADE NO BRASIL
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01:23:49A CIDADE NO BRASIL
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01:23:52A CIDADE NO BRASIL
01:23:53A CIDADE NO BRASIL