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

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Save Bangladeshi ‘cyber slaves’ in Cambodia
Starved, tortured, and forced to scam, these people are living in inhumane conditions
Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:24 PM

The digital space is notorious for traps and scams that require users to be extremely careful. But how much do we know about those behind the scams? While online fraudsters are by design secretive, an investigative report by The Daily Star has thrown an unlikely twist into the mix, as it revealed how Bangladeshi victims of trafficking in Cambodia – where scam operations proliferated during the pandemic – are being forced to work for transnational cyber-scam gangs. The report highlights the plight of several such victims who shared their experiences, with hundreds more feared to be still trapped, doing the bidding of their captors.

These victims form an unlikely community of scammers rounded up from a number of Asian countries, including Bangladesh, representing what is being called "cyber slavery". One of them is 25-year-old Foysal Hossain who, after visiting Cambodia in early 2021 for the job of a receptionist, found himself sold to cyber-scammers. As he narrated to this newspaper, he was held captive in a fortified complex called The Crown College, and equipped with digital tools to syphon off money from unsuspecting US citizens. He refused initially, but relented after seeing that it only led to beating, electric shocks and solitary confinement in a toilet for days.

Apparently, there are many prison-like compounds like The Crown College, the conditions of which were likened to a "living hell" in a 2022 report by Vitit Muntarbhorn, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.
In full: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/ed ... ia-3227481
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

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445 Cases of Human Trafficking Investigated
AKP Phnom Penh, January 24, 2023 --
Since the launch of Cambodia's campaign against human trafficking, forced labour, and sex trade until January 2023, competent authorities have received 707 complaints and investigated 445 cases.

The update was shared by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng when presiding over the launching ceremony of foreign labour force management in Cambodia here in Phnom Penh recently.

According to Samdech Sar Kheng, the 445 cases involved 1,045 foreigners including 120 suspects of four nationals arrested for legal proceedings.

Of the 707 complaints, 229 cases were closed because their locations could be not tracked and the information provided was inaccurate, continued the deputy prime minister.
- AKP
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

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Malaysia
Police: Some Malaysians rescued from Cambodian scam syndicates returned there due to lucrative earnings
Friday, 27 Jan 2023 7:09 PM MYT

SEPANG, Jan 27 — Some Malaysians who had lucrative jobs in Cambodia's scam syndicates have made their way back there even after being rescued, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said today.

He also said that some individuals did not want to be saved because they were earning good money as scam syndicates after hitting their “sales” targets set by their employers.

“The victims know that they will work as scammers in Cambodia, but because they did not achieve their key performance indicators (KPI), they get the authorities involved.

“But some have reached their KPIs and don't want to come home even though we want to rescue them. They are living in luxury because of their jobs.

“Even if we return them back home, they make a U-turn and go back to Cambodia,” Abd Jalil told reporters during a press conference held at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this afternoon.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia ... ings/52196
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

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Eight Foreigners Rescued Through Police Hotline Intervention
02/02/23 16:44
Cambodia News, (Phnom Penh): The spokesman of the Ministry of the Interior said that over a period of three days, from January 27 to 29, Cambodian police found and rescued 8 foreign victims of "cyberslavery" in Oddar Meanchey and Svay Rieng provinces. These were all a result of case investigations which were activated by calls to the police "Hotline".

The spokesman said that among the above-mentioned 8 foreigners, there were 3 Thais rescued from Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province, and 5 Chinese people were found in Oddar Meanchey Province. However, one of the five Chinese people who was rescued, has since escaped from the authorities.

NOTE: Calls to report human trafficking can be made to Hotline numbers: 119, 117, and (+855) 031 201 2345, or the English Hotline via Telegram (+855) 097 9117 117.
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

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Cambodian Authorities Continue to Receive Calls for Help
Phnom Penh: It has been reported that the Chinese-run online scam gangs are leaving Cambodia, but although the numbers are clearly dwindling, two calls for assistance were filed by the Minstry of the Interior on 9 February 2023, requesting the rescue of one Cambodian national and two Chinese.

General Khieu Sopheak, Secretary of State and spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said that as of February 9, 2023, there have been a total of 731 separate requests for help involving 1,776 people.
Authorities investigated 461 requests and closed 240 cases (found 1,079 people, arrested 122 suspects, closed five companies, and suspended businesses, as well as searched four companies).

General Khieu Sopheak confirmed that the Cambodian authorities are currently investigating 30 cases throughout the country.
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

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Police and officials continue to deny that foreigners are being held as cyberslaves in a compound belonging to Mr Sok Kong (Sokimex Group) on Bokor Mountain in Kampot.

Scams, Human Trafficking Thrived at Bokor Mountain Behind Tycoon’s Luxury Hotel
9 February 2023 10:30 AM
Jack Brook
Yan Huang and Sovann Sreypich

Every day, crowds of tourists visit a popular sightseeing spot beside the five-star Thansur Sokha hotel and casino atop Bokor mountain to snap photos of temples, colonial ruins and the Kampot province coastline.

But behind the grand facade of the hotel owned by tycoon Sok Kong’s Sokimex Investment Group, scam companies involved in human trafficking have found a refuge in a cluster of heavily guarded buildings, according to Taiwanese law enforcement, evidence from victims detained there, and advocates directly involved in rescues of victims from the compound.

The Bokor compound is a “stronghold” for online scam companies and human trafficking, said an officer with the Taiwan National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). In charge of rescuing Taiwanese nationals trapped in Cambodia, the officer requested anonymity to protect his safety.

Between August and December 2022, Taiwanese law enforcement arrested 12 people in Taiwan linked to the “Big Fatty” gang which allegedly trafficked 31 Taiwanese nationals. They were among the more than 430 Taiwanese nationals rescued from across Cambodia in 2022, the CIB officer said.

Two CIB officers confirmed to CamboJA the Big Fatty gang had trafficked victims to the compound at Preah Monivong Bokor National Park.

Image
Image
A victim of trafficking sends their location, clearly identifying the Sokimex-owned compound behind the Thansur Sokha hotel on Bokor mountain in Kampot province. The messages have been blurred to protect identity. (Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau)
...
Maj. Gen. Chanmathurith, the police chief of Kampot province, told CamboJA there had not been a single case of anyone detained or tortured on Bokor mountain but acknowledged he had helped Taiwanese nationals leave the site last year. He said when police received complaints about Bokor they always contacted the compound in advance before visiting.

“They [people inside the compound] filed the complaint because they just want to change their job to another place and there is no detention or torture and in 2022 we went to check those nine buildings owned by the Sokimex company,” he said.

“There they have Thai nationals and Bangladeshi nationals,” he continued. “All of them filed the complaint that they were detained and tortured and when we went to check there we found nothing, just that they want to change their job to get a higher salary.”
Full article; long read: https://cambojanews.com/scams-human-tra ... ury-hotel/

See also: newsworthy/bokor-town-plans-unveiled-t29883-40.html
post573817.html#p573817
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by Arget »

from above

Maj. Gen. Chanmathurith, the police chief of Kampot province, told CamboJA there had not been a single case of anyone detained or tortured on Bokor mountain but acknowledged he had helped Taiwanese nationals leave the site last year. He said when police received complaints about Bokor they always contacted the compound in advance before visiting.

in many reports complaints of illegal gambling the competant authorities always wait awhile (days/weeks) then raid but alas nothing illegal found. Surprising how many silly people report people and places but all are clean found onsite, no machines, people etc found onsite. :hattip:
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by Flexxman »

With reporting like that Cambojanews could be next after VOD...

“No one should underestimate the revenge component of this decision,” said Robertson, adding that VOD had been at the forefront of exposing official complicity in such cyber-scam syndicates, which have made Cambodia “synonymous with the latest, sinister form of 21st century slavery”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... roadcaster
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

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DFA: Around 50-100 Filipino victims of ‘crypto trafficking’ are in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos
INQUIRER.net / 09:10 AM February 14, 2023
MANILA, Philippines — There may be as many as 50 to 100 overseas Filipinos who are victims of cryptocurrency trafficking rings in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said this as the department recently rescued and repatriated eight Filipino human trafficking victims from Myanmar, four of whom were crypto-trafficking victims.

“I would say there are as many as 50 to 100 [victims] in each of these countries in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia,” he said when asked in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel of how many victims have fallen under the crypto-trafficking scheme.
He said the four victims from Myanmar, who are all males, were recruited in Dubai via online.
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/21094 ... anmar-laos
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Re: Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs (UPDATED)

Post by techietraveller84 »

https://cyberscoop.com/pig-butchering-r ... ms-rising/

Scammers seeking to con unsuspecting targets into giving up money under the guise of friendship or love are alive and well ahead of this Valentine’s Day, a researcher said in a report released Monday.

In the report from the cybersecurity firm Sophos, senior researcher Sean Gallagher detailed two recent so-called “pig butchering” scams — a macabre term for frauds in which scammers attempt to extract as much money as possible from their victims — he observed over the past 18 months.

In the first scam, Gallagher interacted with Hong Kong-based fraudsters who tried to convince him to download a fraudulent version of a Russian trading app and register with personal information and documents before ultimately moving money into the account.

Gallagher told CyberScoop via email this is the first time he’s seen a scammer focus on gold trading as a ruse, but the campaign shares other hallmarks of pig butchering scams: friendship and romance-related content, a fake app or website posing as a trading platform or some other wealth-producing plan.

The FBI warned in December that pig butchering scams were on the rise. The schemes not only cost victims millions of dollars annually, but can be so devastating that some victims have contemplated suicide.

In the case that Gallagher at Sophos investigated, the fraudster claimed to have an uncle who was a former Goldman Sachs analyst. Gallagher, who interacted directly with the scammer, was upfront about the fact that he was a cybersecurity researcher. After some reluctance, the scammer continued with the ruse.

The scheme also shared one big commonality with other scams researched by Sophos, which was the use of a fake version of the Russian trading app MetaTrader 4. Gallagher has seen the app abused in at least four other similar scams.

The fact that both Apple and Google pulled the app from its stores (reportedly due to Russia-related sanctions) is actually a boon for scammers, who can more easily convince a target to download it from a sketchy third party instead, says Gallagher.

Gallagher also investigated a Chinese fraud ring based out of Cambodia that ran a cryptocurrency trading scam using a fraudulent app made to appear like a real app called TradingView. In that scam, fraudsters took a more involved approach trying to gain Gallagher’s trust by frequently messaging him and sending photos and even video messaging with him. Gallagher observed that wallet addresses associated with the scam had taken in about $500,000 worth of cryptocurrency from victims over a one-month period.

Sophos says its shared information about the scams with Apple, Google and other companies that were impersonated or whose infrastructure was used for the scam. Gallagher also presented the data to U.S. law enforcement including the U.S. Secret Service and FBI. He notes that in the case of the gold scam, scammers simply moved on to new domains after he reported the original ones to relevant parties.

Both scams are part of an expanding family of fraud rings taking advantage of existing technology infrastructure and emotional cunning to gain the trust of victims seeking a quick return on investment or even companionship.

Earlier this month, Sophos reported two scam rings that approached victims on dating websites and then lured them into downloading counterfeit financial apps that be had successfully bypassed Apple App and Google Play stores security reviews. (Both companies took down the counterfeit apps after Sophos contacted them.)
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