Geographical Magazine

Our lead investigation (Page 30) exposes Southeast Asia’s ‘scam
industry, separating victims from life-changing sums. Each site can
house thousands of workers, and the targets are global – from China
to North America and Western Europe. A researcher tracking these networks told Geographical that cybercrime is now probably bigger than the global drug trade. The sums involved are mind boggling: the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates annual losses of up to US$37billion in East and Southeast Asia alone.
On Page 20, Sean Sutton reports from Syria as people start to return from one of the world’s largest diasporas – slowly, unevenly and at great cost. Families rebuild amid the remnants of war – landmines and unexploded ordnance that contaminate homes, farmland and schoolyards, with children among the most frequent victims. Humanitarian organisations report that more than 1,600
people were killed or injured in the year following December 2024 alone.
Two stories, both of which reveal what happens when crime and conflict
become business as usual.
Graeme Gourlay, Editor