Asian AngleCambodia’s war on scammers needs a blueprint built to last
Rounding up foot soldiers is easy. The hard part is tracing cash, exposing high-level enablers and protecting coerced victims
Online scams have become one of the world’s most pressing non-traditional security threats in recent years, with Southeast Asia emerging as the site of rampant transnational criminal activity.
While the political will is clear, implementation is now the issue. The question is not whether Phnom Penh is fighting the war against online scams, but whether it can win it.
The government has enacted the Law on Combating Online Scams, which came into force in April, to provide a dedicated legal basis for criminalising technology-enabled fraud, organised scam operations, money laundering, illegal recruitment, forced labour and related offences. In November, it established the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS) as a national coordinating body to detect, disrupt and dismantle scam networks.
Between November and May, Cambodian authorities reportedly raided more than 400 locations, revoked 25 casino licences and deported around 20,000 foreign nationals linked to scam operations.