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

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

Thailand

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

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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).

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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Computers and workstations seized by police during an online scam crackdown at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in March. Photo: Reuters
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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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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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.

The man is reunited with his family. Photo: Security Bureau
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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Detained scam centre workers are seen after a raid on a compound in Myanmar’s eastern Myawaddy township last year. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

Vehicles drive past the Prince International Plaza in Phnom Penh on October 15, 2025. Photo: AFP
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

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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A Thai soldier keeps guard outside a closed scam centre in O’Smach, Cambodia, on February 2. Photo: AP
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.

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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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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Counterfeit US dollar banknotes on the floor inside a scam compound in Samraong, Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province. Photo: Reuters
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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In a November 12 raid, the Cambodian authorities rounded up thousands at an online fraud compound in Bavet City, the largest city in the southeastern province of Svay Rieng, which shares a border with Vietnam. Photo: Handout
Myanmar

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

China-Asean relations

China executed a series of Myanmese kingpins. What does it say about its sway?

The condemned headed family syndicates that trapped Chinese abroad in massive scam centres.

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Cambodia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

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A Thai solider inspects a workstation inside a scam centre in O’Smach, Cambodia, on Monday. Photo: AP
Crime

Video | Fake police station and uniforms found in Cambodian scam centre

Fake law enforcement uniforms with markings from several jurisdictions, including China and Singapore, were found along with mock police stations apparently used to intimidate victims.

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South Korea

‘Ruin you’: Cambodians outraged by South Korean president’s anti-scam threat

Critics said Lee Jae Myung should have posted in Chinese, not Khmer, as his warning to foreign syndicates sparked anger across Cambodia.

Myanmar

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

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