7 Japanese nationals in Cambodia arrested over alleged fraud
Today 04:00 pm JST
Cambodian authorities said Monday they have arrested seven Japanese nationals who are allegedly members of a fraud group.

Japanese police suspect that two of the men are involved in several fraud cases in Japan, Kyodo News reported. They plan on dispatching investigators to Cambodia while procedures are under way to deport the suspects to Japan.

According to investigators, the seven men were using a hotel in Cambodia as their hub. The men, aged in their 30s to 50s, had no passports, leading Cambodian police to believe they are part of a bigger gang that had coerced them into committing acts of fraud.

Around May, information was provided to Cambodian authorities that a Japanese man was scamming people online from a Cambodian hotel near the Thai border.

After local authorities contacted Japanese police, they managed to confiscate and check the contents of the suspect’s mobile phone and computer. He and another suspect are accused of getting a man in Saga Prefecture to invest cash in a bogus real estate deal.

In April, 19 other Japanese nationals were arrested on suspicion of conducting similar fraud schemes from a resort hotel in Cambodia.

All suspects are currently being detained at an immigration center in Phnom Penh.
© Japan Today
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/7 ... eged-fraud

Cambodia deports 2 Japanese online scam suspects to Japan
August 15, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)
PHNOM PENH (Kyodo) -- Cambodian authorities deported two Japanese suspects to Japan on Tuesday over their alleged involvement in online scamming, investigative sources said.

The two, escorted by Japanese police, boarded a flight at Phnom Penh International Airport, the sources said.

The suspects are among seven Japanese who were detained in northern Cambodia, near the Thai border, in May after informants told the authorities about their alleged scamming activities.

The rest are back in Japan and have been questioned by Japanese police.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20 ... na/052000c

More than 20 Japanese detained in Cambodia over fraud allegations
Sep. 13, 06:20 am JST
PHNOM PENH
More than 20 Japanese have been detained by Cambodian authorities for allegedly committing fraud using an apartment in Phnom Penh as their hub, investigative sources said Tuesday.

The move came after the Japanese Embassy in Cambodia passed on information to local authorities about the existence of Japanese involved in online fraud, according to the sources.

There have been a series of cases in which Japanese scam groups were found using Southeast Asian nations as hideouts. In April, Cambodian authorities deported 19 Japanese over their alleged involvement in phone scams, and they were arrested once back in Japan.

In the latest case, local authorities raided a facility in the Cambodian capital Monday night and found a number of Japanese and a few Vietnamese nationals there. Some fled the scene.

The authorities have also confiscated cell phones, laptops and some documents.

Like previous cases, the Japanese suspects will likely be deported.
© KYODO

The Japanese recruitment for phone scammers in Asia:

Fear, money and Telegram: Inside the world of Japan's 'dark jobs'
February 26, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)

A screenshot shows a Telegram exchange in which a recruiter for "dark jobs" explains that callers can take on up to three jobs per day, earning 50,000 yen (about $372) per fraud and 1 to 1.5 million yen (roughly $7,430 to $11,150) monthly.

TOKYO -- A string of armed robberies that recently rocked Japan were carried out mainly by people who applied for "dark jobs" directed by someone going by aliases like "Luffy" and "Kim." Some among those who have been arrested expressed their fear of the organized crime ring, saying they couldn't quit even if they wished to. As the crime spree has put dark jobs into the spotlight, recruitment continues.

"High-paying job," "perfect safety measures" are some of the inviting phrases that pop up during a Twitter search for "yami baito," literally meaning "dark part-time jobs" in Japanese. Within minutes of asking for details via direct messages, Mainichi Shimbun reporters heard back from lots of accounts. We were soon led to secret exchanges over the anonymous messaging app, Telegram.

"Can you do illegal jobs, too?" One of the accounts who responded to our messages in mid-February got right to the point. Introducing themselves as "the recruiter," they explained they handled soliciting and hiring duties. The job on offer was a caller in a phone scam. When we expressed reluctance, the recruiter fired back with, "If you want to get rich, be a caller overseas," and, "You can earn a lifetime's worth by doing this for 10 years."

We asked the recruiter which country they meant by "overseas," but were told only "in Asia." The cost of flights, accommodation and meals were apparently all to be taken care of, and the monthly salary was in the range of 1 to 3 million yen (approx. $7,430 to $22,300).
Full article: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20 ... na/017000c

Japanese detained in Cambodia over fraud destroyed phones
KYODO NEWS - Sep 28, 2023 - 17:52 | World, All, Japan
Cambodian investigative sources said Thursday that mobile phones seized by local authorities after they raided an apartment in Phnom Penh used as a base by over 20 Japanese nationals for alleged fraud were destroyed before the raid.

Cambodian authorities raided the apartment on Sept. 11 and confiscated dozens of mobile phones, as well as computers and documents that appear to be manuals for committing fraud, the sources said.

About 20 of the phones have been broken, they said. The suspects said that they had been instructed to destroy the phones and documents if people other than the group's members sought to enter the apartment.

There has been a series of cases involving Japanese scam groups using locations in Southeast Asian countries as hideouts. In April, Cambodian authorities deported 19 Japanese nationals over their alleged involvement in phone scams, who were arrested once they were returned to Japan.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023 ... urces.html

Three Japanese fugitives are still on the run from the Cambodian police, almost one month after making their escape during a police raid.

October 10, 2023
25 Japanese awaiting deportation green light
Soth Koemsoeun / Khmer Times

The three suspects on the run from police. Police
After being detained on suspicion of participating in human imprisonment and violence, 25 Japanese nationals will be deported from Cambodia.

Three others who are on the run are being sought by police.

General Keo Vannthan, the spokesman for the Immigration Department, said yesterday that officials were asking for guidelines from the Ministry of Interior before repatriating the Japanese to their country.

“We are temporarily detaining 25 Japanese at the General Department of Immigration.

“I am not been able to confirm when the deportation will take place,” he said.

“We will do it as soon as the Minister of Interior gives the go-ahead,” Gen Vannthan said.

According to Touch Sokhak, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, the arrests were conducted at the request of the Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh after a Japanese victim provided information.

“National Police identified all 28 Japanese and conducted an operation to arrest 25 people on September 11, and three others escaped. The National Police are continuing looking for the three who are still at large,” he said.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501373940/ ... een-light/