IMF, World Bank launch framework for fighting cyber fraud

BANGKOK - The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Wednesday released a framework for tackling cyber-enabled fraud, as the Thai government underlined the mounting cost of online scams that have roiled the region.

The framework, known as the Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services, is aimed at assisting policymakers, regulators, financial institutions and other stakeholders, but is not formal IMF-World Bank policy guidance.

"Digital fraud and scams have become a global problem," Thai Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said at the launch of the framework at the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. "It has cost the world economy around $1 trillion annually, or 3% of GDP."

In Asia Pacific alone, scam gangs defrauded residents of at least $88 billion in ‌2025, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with transnational crime groups rapidly evolving tactics to stay ahead of law enforcement.

"Asia accounted for 67% of global fraud losses in 2024," said Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn.

"The region has accumulated valuable experience combating this threat, offering up practical lessons that countries can adapt to their own."

The expansion of cyber fraud is threatening to reverse the gains made by digital finance, which allowed people who otherwise have no access to the financial system to access it, said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva

-Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by John Mair/Reuters