Scam Syndicates and Global Security - Jason G. Tower
This video examines the rapid expansion of transnational criminal networks operating across Southeast Asia and their growing global impact. The discussion explores how online scam syndicates evolved from offshore gambling operations into sophisticated international fraud enterprises targeting victims around the world. Particular attention is given to the role of sanctions, asset seizures, financial tracking, and international coordination in disrupting these networks.
The conversation also addresses the geopolitical dimensions of the issue, including the relationship between criminal actors, corruption, infrastructure development, and regional power dynamics. The speaker argues that greater international cooperation, transparency, financial enforcement, and public awareness campaigns will be essential to countering what has become a major transnational security threat.
Speaker Biography
Jason G. Tower has over two decades of experience working on conflict and security issues in Southeast Asia and beyond, with a particular focus on Myanmar and China. He is currently a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), where he works on organized crime, security and illicit economies in Southeast Asia. Since 2019, Jason has been at the forefront of cutting-edge research on the rise of criminal enclaves hosting industrial scale scam operations across the region and has published a series of reports highlighting the involvement of armed actors and transnational crime groups in these activities, as well as the threat they pose to regional and global security.
Jason’s work on online scams, casino crimes, illicit economies and conflict in Myanmar has been featured in over 100 media outlets, and he has testified on multiple occasions before the U.S. Congress on these issues. Jason served previously as Myanmar Country director for the United States Institute of Peace, and has held senior positions at PeaceNexus and the American Friends Service Committee. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Faculty of Politics at Chulalongkorn University, and has held consultancies with numerous UN agencies, the European Union and with multiple foundations.
