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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.
Waves crash on Kalim beach in Phuket. The suspect was arrested from a luxury resort on the Thai island. Photo: Shutterstock
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

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Cambodia

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

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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A fake Singapore police station is seen inside an abandoned scam centre in O’Smach town on the Thai-Cambodian border on March 12. Photo: AFP
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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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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Workstations used by scam operators are seen after a police raid in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
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.

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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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is interviewed in Brussels on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
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.

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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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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.

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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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Bai Yingcang (far left), was one of the core members of the Bai crime family to be executed in China over a range of illegal activity in Myanmar. Photo: Handout
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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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.

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.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet shake hands during a summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 25, 2025. Photo: Korea Times
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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Cambodia

Inside an abandoned Cambodian scam centre seized by Thai troops

Fake law enforcement uniforms from nations including China and Singapore were found alongside mock police sets used to intimidate victims.

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Crime in China

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

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