Thailand and the U.N. launched the Global Partnership Against Online Scams at a two-day Bangkok conference, with initial signatories including Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Peru and the UAE. The initiative emphasizes coordinated law enforcement, victim protection and cross-border cooperation, and attracted private-sector support from Meta and TikTok. UNODC estimates place 2023 losses to online scams at $18–37 billion, and organizers urged rapid information-sharing and wider industry participation to disrupt scam networks.
Bangkok Launches Global Partnership Against Online Scams — Meta and TikTok Join Effort
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul answers journalists' questions during the International Conference on the Global Partnership against Online Scams in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Thailand and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) concluded a two-day conference in Bangkok with the launch of the Global Partnership Against Online Scams, a multilateral effort to disrupt transnational fraud networks that the U.N. says siphon billions from victims worldwide.
What Was Announced
Conference participants signed a partnership agreement committing signatory countries — Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Peru and the United Arab Emirates — to coordinated political support, enhanced law enforcement collaboration, stronger victim protection measures, public-awareness campaigns and cross-border cooperation.
In his keynote address, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul warned that online fraud "reveals a deeper problem — a collective vulnerability that no country can address alone."
Private Sector Involvement
Private-sector companies, including Meta and TikTok, played a visible role. Meta presented a threat report highlighting scam networks' growing use of artificial intelligence and described platform-level protocols it uses to detect and disrupt fraud across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. TikTok signed the conference closing statement and became one of the first private-sector partners to join the new partnership.
Scale Of The Problem
The UNODC estimates that victims lost between $18 billion and $37 billion to online scams in 2023. Organized "scam centers" — often operating bogus investment schemes or fabricated romantic relationships — have proliferated in parts of Southeast Asia, presenting complex transnational law-enforcement and victim-repatriation challenges.
Regional Context And Momentum
More than 300 participants from nearly 60 countries attended the Bangkok meeting, which repeatedly emphasized the importance of private-public collaboration. Speakers cited recent regional incidents — including raids on scam compounds in Myanmar, difficulties repatriating victims in Thailand and the death of a South Korean student reportedly forced to work in a scam operation in Cambodia — as drivers of urgent action.
The conference also referenced wider international efforts: more than 70 countries signed the U.N. Convention against Cybercrime in October in Vietnam, a step U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres described as "a vow that no country, no matter their level of development, will be left defenseless against cybercrime."
Next Steps
Organizers said the partnership will prioritize information-sharing, coordinated investigations, victim support and engaging additional private-sector platforms and financial and telecommunications companies. Advocates at the conference urged rapid expansion of membership and concrete operational protocols to translate political commitments into cross-border enforcement and prevention actions.
