Online scam operations which operate across borders have surpassed the drug trade as the most profitable activity for criminal networks, say researchers who contributed to a report on transnational criminal operations in the Southeast Asian region.

“Scams have now surpassed drug trafficking in profitability, generating billions of dollars,” said Bridget Welsh, the expert on Malaysian who contributed to the report titled “Transnational crime in Southeast Asia: A growing threat to global peace and security”.

The report published in May by the United States Institute of Peace (Usip) features...