Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Cambodia news in English! Here you'll find all the breaking news from Cambodia translated into English for our international readership and expat community to read and comment on. The majority of our news stories are gathered from the local Khmer newspapers, but we also bring you newsworthy media from Cambodia before you read them anywhere else. Because of the huge population of the capital city, most articles are from Phnom Penh, but Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, and Kampot often make the headlines as well. We report on all arrests and deaths of foreigners in Cambodia, and the details often come from the Cambodian police or local Khmer journalists. As an ASEAN news outlet, we also publish regional news and events from our neighboring countries. We also share local Khmer news stories that you won't find in English anywhere else. If you're looking for a certain article, you may use our site's search feature to find it quickly.
techietraveller84
Expatriate
Posts: 567
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:04 pm
Reputation: 167
United States of America

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by techietraveller84 »

Maybe an update on the article posted a couple days ago about the Chinese authorities sending teams down. https://cybernews.cloud/china-sent-work ... hmer-times
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Final four M’sian victims of Cambodia job scam brought home
04- 20- 2022 01:37 PM
KUALA LUMPUR: The remaining four of the 16 Malaysians who claimed to be victims of a job scam syndicate in Cambodia arrived safely in the country at 4.35 pm yesterday from Phnom Penh.

The Foreign Ministry said the four iwere unable to join the other 12 on the return flight on April 11 because they tested positive for COVID-19 before departure.

“They were allowed to return to Malaysia after undergoing a seven-day quarantine in Cambodia under the supervision of the Malaysian Embassy there,“ Wisma Putra said in a post on its official Facebook account today.

The Foreign Ministry also expressed its appreciation to the Cambodian government and the close cooperation given by the Malaysian Embassy in facilitating the relevant matters to enable them to return home safely. The four arrived at kuala lumpur international airport 2 (klia2).

Apart from that, Wisma Putra also advised Malaysians to always be careful about job offers abroad to ensure that they are not trapped by job scam syndicates.

The victims claimed that they had been offered attractive jobs but once in Cambodia they were kept in prison like conditions and forced to to make telephone calls to con people of their money using modes somewhat like the Macau scam.

Malaysian missions abroad are always ready to provide appropriate advice on the matter as well as assist Malaysian citizens who are in difficulty, the ministry said.

The success in bringing home all the 16 Malaysians was the result of close cooperation between the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Cambodian police, ASEAN Police (Aseanapol) and Wisma Putra.
- Bernama
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
User avatar
AndyKK
Expatriate
Posts: 6448
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:32 am
Reputation: 2248
Great Britain

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by AndyKK »

But still no word on their employer.
Always "hope" but never "expect".
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

April 23, 2022
71 Indonesians believed to be exploited by online gambling syndicates in Cambodia thus far thus year

The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry said that 188 Indonesians were exploited while working for casinos and online gambling companies in Cambodia since 2021.

The Indonesian citizens were initially persuaded to work in a start-up company as customer service with a large salary.

The ministry’s Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI, Judha Nugraha, said that 117 cases were found in 2021.

In the first three months of 2022, there were 71 cases. That number, he said, could only be the tip of an iceberg.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501062394/ ... thus-year/
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

There has been an interesting follow up in the Sinchew Daily, the news outlet at the origin of the 'Malaysian Slaves Rescued in Cambodia' story mentioned here:
post541662.html#p541662
post543042.html#p543042
Image

Malaysian journalists at the Sinchew Daily newspaper received an email asking for help from a Malaysian man who said that he was being held captive in a scam center in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
The journalists decided to investigate the matter and entered into an email correspondence with a man called "Loo" to obtain further details and authenticate the allegations. It makes fascinating reading.
Image
Image
Image

Full story here:
Image
https://mysinchew.sinchew.com.my/202205 ... a-rescued/

Summary of email correspondence with "Loo":
https://www.sinchew.com.my/?p=3776369
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Meanwhile, in Cambodia, officials say here that many of the victims do not wish to be rescued, that families should not pay ransoms to the crime syndicates, and that all information on captive foreigners should be passed on to the Cambodian police who will take the most efficient and appropriate action.

May 7, 2022
Paying ransoms for Malaysians held by syndicates in Cambodia to secure their release gives no guarantees on their safe return
Khmer Times
Cambodian police officials along with Chinese state security officials based in the Cambodian Ministry of Interior have told Khmer Times that paying or offering ransoms to those syndicates holding Malaysian nationals in their clutches was not a solution.

Speaking to Khmer Times in strict conditions of anonymity, they said that demanding ransom of outrageous sums was just a tactic by the syndicates to put off efforts by parents from ‘buying’ the release of their loved ones and often, the release does not happen after the ransom has been paid.

“If the family held details on the alleged whereabouts of their locations where they are being held captives, they should pass it on to authorities and a formal complaint by Malaysian authorities should be handed over to the Cambodian Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur.

“Once this is done, a chain of events will be set in motion and the Ministry of Interior, at times acting on our information and intel can launch operations to launch rains to secure the release of the captives, even though some of the captives do not want to return home, did not make a complain and it is their parents who are pushing for such a move,” the officials said.

They stressed that direct negotiations or through middlemen often led to disastrous consequences and the official channel is better as it pushes things to move faster.

Often, they said, politicians act on their individual behalf, sometimes armed with police reports which have no bearing in Cambodia.

“The process we described earlier is the best route to secure the Malaysians release as soon as possible and the longer they delay this or make their children’s hostage situation public, the more riskier it becomes by those allegedly being held captive and harder for officials to track them down as they are often relocated.”

It is believed that up to 100 Malaysian citizens or more are working in online gambling and scamming centres all over Cambodia and of these, not all want to return as many are said to be happy with their earnings.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501070790/ ... fe-return/
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Pseudonomdeplume
Expatriate
Posts: 1521
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 3:31 pm
Reputation: 505
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by Pseudonomdeplume »

"I be treated good and nappy to, sorry, happy to receive nice earrings, earnings. Sorry, it is very hard to read their handwriting."
Scent from Dan's Durians & Perfumierie
techietraveller84
Expatriate
Posts: 567
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:04 pm
Reputation: 167
United States of America

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by techietraveller84 »

I know this is about Thailand's, but they always seem to be intertwined.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015533

Renewed focus on cybercrime as complaints against fraudsters pile up in Thailan
d

Top police officials met with public and private agencies on Thursday to come up with ways of dealing with call-centre gangs and cybercriminals.

Share this article

Renewed focus on cybercrime as complaints against fraudsters pile up

National Police chief Pol General Suwat Jangyodsuk said 22,426 complaints have been filed between March 1 and May 10, while people have been duped out of more than 1.5 billion baht per month.

“Of them, 5,079 cases were of financial fraud," he said. "Up to 6,593 bank accounts were frozen, while officials were able to recover 76.36 million of the 2.06 billion baht lost.”

He said criminals change their methods all the time to escape the law, such as using the difficult to trace Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or opening bank accounts in other people’s names to receive cash from victims.

In most cases, the cash is transferred to many accounts, and the holder of the last account then purchases cryptocurrency from foreign traders via a peer-to-peer platform, he said.

Renewed focus on cybercrime as complaints against fraudsters pile up

To tackle these problems, the Bank of Thailand will review regulations to deal with criminal accounts quickly. The central bank will also cooperate on amending laws, so the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) can lawfully freeze accounts.

“AMLO will also help police by reporting suspicious transactions,” he said.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission will review regulations to take legal action against peer-to-peer cryptocurrency traders and implement guidelines on seizing cryptocurrency from criminals.”

Renewed focus on cybercrime as complaints against fraudsters pile up

Meanwhile, the Digital Economy and Society Ministry and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will come up with a regulation on how many SIM cards a single person can hold.

“We will also raise awareness via banking apps, the PaoTang app and SMS. For instance, do not transfer funds to anyone if you cannot contact the recipient or hang up as soon as you receive automated phone calls,” he said.

Renewed focus on cybercrime as complaints against fraudsters pile up

He added that a working team will be set up to tackle this issue, and believes cooperation from all sides will make the tackling of cybercrime more efficient. He said the longer a problem is left untouched, the more difficult it becomes to solve.

“Hence, I call on everybody to be careful when transferring cash or providing personal information to others,” he said.
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Foreigner job scams in Cambodia, as seen from Taiwan:

Sat, May 21, 2022
EDITORIAL: Foreign job scams must be stopped

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued a statement warning about employment scams in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries, saying that more than 40 cases had been reported since February.

Taiwanese responding to job ads promising high salaries had been held against their will by employers after arriving, and forced to engage in telephone fraud or other illegal activities, the ministry said. Some were reportedly beaten or forced to pay exorbitant sums of money before they could leave.

The ministry issued a similar warning on Jan. 25, and that more than 40 cases have occurred since then shows that young people have not gotten the message or are not heeding the ministry’s advice. The issue is of serious concern, as large numbers of Taiwanese being held captive in a foreign country — especially one in which Taiwan has no representative office — could turn into a diplomatic crisis.

The government should investigate what drives Taiwanese to respond to such ads, and devise ways to help them meet their needs. It is unclear whether the victims knew that they would be engaging in illegal activities, but numerous reports of Taiwanese being deported to China from Southeast Asian countries and elsewhere in the past few years should have provided some indication of what such work involved. Promises of highly paid, unskilled employment in a foreign country, in jobs that require no knowledge of English or the local language, should be alarming.

Taiwanese are not the only targets of such fraudulent activity. Reuters in September last year reported that foreigners in Cambodia were being targeted on social media for jobs that turned out to involve investment fraud, and that victims from Asia and Africa responding to such ads were being trafficked and abused by Chinese captors.

The government must communicate to young Taiwanese the risks of responding to such employment ads. This could be done through posting its own notices on social media platforms, or through information campaigns on school campuses or at airports where Taiwanese bound for high-risk countries would receive information before their departure.

Taiwanese who accept illegal work in foreign countries should understand that deportation to China is among the worst outcomes. They would have no access to a fair trial, and could be imprisoned in inhumane conditions with no way to communicate with friends and family in Taiwan. Such a scenario would not only be traumatizing, but would also be a political headache for Taipei, which would find itself locked in a losing battle to get access to its nationals.
Full article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editor ... 2003778540
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
User avatar
atst
Expatriate
Posts: 3575
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:27 pm
Reputation: 2126
New Zealand

Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by atst »

Read it twice , a message to try to help people not become victims, nothing about getting the authorities to stop the problem.
:stir:
I'm standing up, so I must be straight.
What's a poor man do when the blues keep following him around.(Smoking Dynamite)
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ali baba, Bing [Bot], crackheadyo, Gazzy, mango, orussey98, Stravaiger and 737 guests