Southeast Asia: The Battle Ground Against Online Scams
Amidst today’s increasingly competitive job market and rising costs of living, it is not surprising that the promise of a high paying job would attract many people seeking better opportunities. However, few would imagine that such an opportunity would lead to kidnappings, torture, or even death. Yet, this is the grim reality that awaits numerous victims of the online scam centers located in Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. In recent years, these scams have become more widespread and powerful, targeting victims from a range of countries. Last year, these online scams stole a total of $10 million from victims in the United States.
South Korea’s Recent Crackdown
The issue resurfaced this past Wednesday as South Korea held a press conference announcing its efforts to bring back the South Koreans who had disappeared after being lured to Cambodia by online scam centers. This year, 330 South Koreans were reported missing after travelling to Cambodia, lured under the pretense of high paying jobs. However, upon arrival, they were coerced into defrauding other South Koreans. Out of those who were missing, 79 are still unaccounted for. The news sparked outrage in South Korea. In response the South Korean government has issued travel bans for South Koreans to travel to certain parts of Cambodia where the scam centers are most prevalent. President Lee called for the removal of these illegal job ads.
How do these Scam Centers Operate?
These online scam centers emerged out of the collapse of Southeast Asia’s gambling industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Criminal gangs which had previously operated casinos sought new sources of revenue, leading to the development of this new cyber-scam model. These scam operations are fairly new and highly sophisticated. They often employ advanced, deepfake technology in order to scam their victims, making it difficult for governments to track.
Many of the victims of these scams are educated, skilled workers looking for legitimate employment. The horrific experience of one victim was illustrated in the story of Samuel (alias), a Ghanan IT worker who was lured to Thailand with the promise of a data-entry position at a warehouse company. Instead he was forced to work in a scam center across the border in Myanmar. In the center, workers such as Samuel were forced to convince unsuspecting people to invest in fake products or cryptocurrency schemes. If they failed to meet their quotas, their salaries were withheld. Other stories commonly feature threats, physical assault, and sexual assault. A 22 year university student was even found dead earlier this year.
Currently, Cambodia has become the main focus of international concern. Earlier this summer, Amnesty International found 53 online scam centers across the nation and accused the Cambodian government of “deliberately ignoring abuses by cybercrime gangs that have trafficked people from across the world, including children, into slavery at brutal scam compounds.” The Cambodian government denied such claims and said that Cambodia itself was a victim of the crimes and should be receiving international help rather than scorn. These online scam centers not only operate in Cambodia but have been found in Laos and Myanmar, particularly near the Thai-Myanmar border. The interesting aspect of these crimes is that they typically are run by foreign criminal groups operating in these Southeast Asian countries. A large number are composed of large Chinese criminal syndicates, but in recent years there have been a growing number of Korean and Japanese criminal groups conducting these operations.
South Korea is just the latest in a string of countries attempting to combat these scam centers. Earlier this year, the US and UK imposed sweeping sanctions across targets in one of Cambodia’s large scam networks—Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization—and indicted its chairman, Chen Zhi. China also led a massive crackdown and rescued thousands from scam centers in Myanmar in February this year.
Despite these efforts, the scam centers continue to operate, luring thousands of workers every year. Their ability to manipulate, coerce, and disguise their operation makes them difficult to dismantle. Moreover, since many of these scams operate in developing countries, international cooperation and sustained support are essential to effectively combat these crimes.