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Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Southeast Asia forced-labour scams
Overseas job scams are rising sharply with many being lured to Southeast Asia and forced into illegal work. Cases involving Hongkongers were first revealed in 2022.
Cambodian authorities display equipment seized from a scam compound in Phnom Penh on March 11. Photo: EPA
Cambodia

Cambodia’s ‘performative’ crackdowns fail to stop scam centres: Amnesty

The rights group said it identified 86 scam compounds operating across Cambodia as of April, up from 53 a year earlier.

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Singapore

Suspected Filipino scammer reveals how Cambodian ring conned Singaporeans

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Crime

Editorial | Hong Kong should spare no effort in fight against financial crime

Mainland China

Myanmar’s Wei family go on trial in latest phase of China’s scam farm crackdown

The clan, one of Kokang’s ‘four families’, is accused of a range of crimes including murder, fraud and extortion.

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Wei Huairen pictured at the time of his arrest in January 2024. Photo: Xinhua
Chen Zhi

Cambodia raids sites linked to Chen Zhi, Chinese tycoon accused of scam empire

82 Chinese nationals among 104 people detained in Phnom Penh raids as governments around the world crack down on Chen’s scam business.

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Sri Lanka

The great scam migration: fraudsters fleeing Cambodia find a new hub

Criminal gangs are setting up in rented spaces ranging from luxury villas to office complexes, thanks to cheap visas and fast internet.

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Thailand

‘Phantom birth’ scam spooks Thailand as hundreds of babies get fake citizenship

Police believe that some Chinese cyber scammers are using these false registrations to launder money through firms they can fully control.

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A baby is carried in a back sling adorned with the Chinese character meaning “fortune” in Ban Arunothai, Thailand. Photo: Thomas Bird
Trending in China

Ex-China soldier flees Myanmar scam centre, scales wall, masks scent with cow dung

Former infantryman confounds compound bosses with military skills, flees over mountains finally making safety of Chinese embassy.

Thailand

Thailand to extradite Indonesian man in US$10 million scam targeting Americans

The suspect allegedly hired models to lure targets into phoney investment schemes over video calls, dating apps and social media.

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Cambodia

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

The sanction freezes all US assets linked to Senator Kok An and his named associates, and bars any American national from dealing with them.

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Equipment used at a scam centre in Phnom Penh in March. This year Cambodia has conducted the largest crackdown on scam bases since the crisis emerged during the pandemic. Photo: AP
Cambodia

Video | Inside a scam centre on the Cambodia-Thailand border

The town-sized O’Smach Resort complex, which once housed 29 scam companies, occupies roughly 80 hectares (197 acres).

The town-sized O’Smach Resort complex, which once housed 29 scam companies, occupies roughly 80 hectares (197 acres),
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Thailand

Thailand seizes US$260 million from scammers in ‘decisive’ crackdown

The latest seizure includes cash, cars and bank deposits, bringing the total value of assets confiscated to more US$620 million.

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Cambodia

Why Cambodia’s new law may do little to combat its scam centres

Analysts warn the lack of provisions addressing the role officials and networks play in enabling scams may limit the law’s effectiveness.

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Cambodia

Opinion | To beat Cambodia’s scam gangs, US must work with China – not blame it

Taking down the deeply rooted, well-connected syndicates would require both Washington’s economic leverage and Beijing’s operational efforts.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Scams and swindles

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

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Illustration: Davies Christian
Hong Kong police

‘Like a horror movie’: Hongkonger rescued after Myanmar forced labour ordeal

Security Bureau liaised with Chinese embassies in Myanmar and Thailand, economic and trade office in Bangkok and Thai authorities to rescue man.

Asean

Southeast Asia’s scam compound survivors suffer in stigma and silence

Many survivors return home to inhabit a murky space between victim and offender, with few support services to help them reintegrate.

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Scams and swindles

Video | Cambodia police raid AI-driven scam centre targeting Europe

Cambodia arrested 65 suspects in a Phnom Penh raid on an alleged AI-powered scam centre that targeted European victims with live video calls.

Major General Bun Sosekha, deputy commissioner in charge of the Security Unit Commissariat of Phnom Penh, looks at a seized monitor at a cyberscam operation centre following a raid the night before in Phnom Penh on March 11, 2026. Multilingual scripts, images of young women and timed toilet breaks: a police tour of a newly busted cyberscam operation in Cambodia on March 11 revealed how fraudsters ensnare foreign victims online. (Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP) / To go with ‘CAMBODIA-CYBERCRIME-FRAUD,FOCUS’ by Suy SE and Sally JENSEN
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Scams and swindles

150,000 Meta accounts shut down in Southeast Asian scam centre crackdown

Meta has also launched protective tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp alerts for suspicious friend requests and activities.

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Singapore

Singapore police seize US$390 million in assets in Prince Group probe

Three men, including the captain of Chen Zhi’s superyacht, have been arrested in connection with the case, police announced.

Thailand

Thailand seeks to arrest South African couple in US$30 million fraud case

Ben Smith and his wife reportedly tricked their victim into investing millions in stocks, real estate, a private jet and energy businesses.

A Cambodian police officer stands guard near a scam compound in Kampot province, Cambodia, on February 10. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong tourism

Scam-hit Cambodia tries to woo Hong Kong but travel agencies have doubts

Tourism board chief says addressing visitors’ safety concerns is a priority, adding that government is ‘determined’ to get rid of scam compounds.

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Cambodia is famous for the Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap. Photo: AFP
Cambodia

Cambodia’s Hun Manet admits scam hubs aided property but denies state profit

Scam centres are giving Cambodia a bad reputation, the prime minister says, vowing to wipe them out.

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Scams and swindles

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

The agency’s latest report documents torture, sexual abuse, forced abortions, food deprivation and solitary confinement in the centres.

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Cambodia

Opinion | Cambodia’s scam factory survivors find no escape in freedom

A government crackdown freed thousands, but with no passports or support, survivors have simply traded captivity for destitution.

People carry their belongings onto a bus as they leave a suspected scam centre compound in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, last month. Photo: AFP
Scams and swindles

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

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Soldiers raid the KK Park online scam centre in Myawaddy township, Karen state, Myanmar, last year. Photo: AP
Scams and swindles

Easier, faster, cheaper: how AI is revolutionising Southeast Asia’s scam hubs

Technology is enabling gangs to target more victims efficiently and expand operations as governments struggle to tackle evolving cybercrime.

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Scams and swindles

Opinion | Cambodia is in a frontline battle against transnational scam syndicates

Targeted due to geography, Cambodia is on the front foot now, dismantling scam compounds, rescuing victims and prosecuting criminals.

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