The Cambodian government has announced a major crackdown on online fraud networks, aiming to shut down all scam centers in the country by the end of April after they caused extensive damage worldwide.
Chheang Sinath, Senior Minister of Cambodia and Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Cambodian Online Crime Suppression Committee, told the Associated Press that since July, authorities have identified 250 suspected locations involved in online scams and have already closed about 80%, roughly 200 sites.
He stated that after April, the police will continue sustained suppression measures to prevent these scam centers from reopening.
Previously, Cambodia has conducted several operations to clear online scam networks but has yet to effectively resolve the problem.
United Nations experts have noted that cybercrime in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, has grown rapidly in recent years, with victims worldwide losing tens of billions of dollars annually to online scams.
These fraudulent businesses are also linked to human trafficking, as many foreign workers are deceived by fake job offers and then forced to participate in online scams, such as fake cryptocurrency investments or romance scams, with some compelled to work under conditions resembling slavery.
Chheang Sinath revealed that in the latest crackdown, the government has initiated 79 legal cases covering 697 suspects, including gang leaders and accomplices.
Meanwhile, Cambodian authorities have repatriated nearly 10,000 workers involved in scam centers back to 23 home countries, with fewer than 1,000 still in the process of repatriation. Some managed to escape on their own or were released after police raids.
Raid on a scam center in Phnom Penh
On Tuesday, Cambodian police raided a high-rise building in Phnom Penh and arrested about 60 suspects, including Cambodians and Chinese nationals.
The Deputy Commissioner of Phnom Penh Municipal Police said the suspects used chat methods to deceive victims in Europe into investing, falsely presenting it as a financial opportunity but actually a fake investment scheme.
Officers also seized a large number of items during the raid, including uniforms and fake identification cards used to impersonate Japanese police officers to intimidate victims online.
Cambodian authorities revealed that online scam networks began appearing in Cambodia in 2012, using Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology to call victims while concealing their location and identity.
However, this business grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic when many casinos that previously served in-person customers closed and shifted to online scam operations instead.
Currently, scam centers are no longer limited to Southeast Asia but have expanded to other regions worldwide, including Africa and Latin America.
Source:Associated Press
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