BANGKOK — A suspected scam call operation and a suspicious network of companies was discovered with links to a new free trade zone in East Timor, the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime said Thursday.

Scam centers have proliferated across Southeast Asia and spread across the world, and the report highlights the ability of the criminal enterprises to relocate as some governments in the region launch crackdowns.

Such centers, usually walled compounds in remote areas that conduct computer-enabled scams that are estimated to cost victims tens of billions of dollars per year, have proliferated in recent years, especially in Southeast Asia.

Scam centers in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have drawn global attention for running notorious romance scams, where a worker poses as an attractive young woman t

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