I know there is a running thread on the scam gangs, but his more talks about how the scams themselves work rather than the gangs, so I thought it better in its own thread.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501216197/ ... ian-males/



Thousands of Cambodian men have fallen victims and lost money to “online sex scams”, a relatively new cyberspace racket in Cambodia targeting those wanting to satisfy their sexual desires, a Khmer Times investigation found.

In the meantime, cracking down on these offences is almost seen as a mission impossible, as most of the victims simply refused to file complaints for the fear of their reputation being ruined.

The modus operandi for such swindles is simple but quite effective in taking advantage of, social media and smartphone technology, which has opened the door even wider for prostitution. This illegal but highly prevalent online business in Cambodia is difficult to crack down on or be raided by the police as it is in ‘Cyberspace.’

The scammers produce social media accounts on a wide range of platforms, particularly Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp, using fake, usually girl names. The profile pictures usually feature an undressed or scantily dressed woman with her face covered or hidden. They advertise their services in public on the aforementioned social media platforms or in social media groups or channels for those who are interested.

On Telegram, the most popular messaging app in Cambodia, alone, there are thousands of such “adult” groups and channels, which use pornographic material to attract followers. While real freelance sex workers are using these platforms to advertise their services, the people behind these fake accounts are only interested in your money.

The fraud starts like this: the scammer posts an advert for sexual services, particularly involving offering sex at a pre-arranged venue or satisfying the clients with “an erotic act” on a video call.

“I will make you happy for just 30 dollars an hour,” read an advertising message.

“$15 for a 30-minute of video call! Come on, book me now!” said another.

The money-making part comes when a person takes the bait and responds to an advertisement, usually, the scammers ask the victims to transfer money through a digital transfer, before making an appointment. To gain the victim’s trust, the scammers send a female voice message. Whether the actual speaker in the voice message is a real woman or not is doubtful, as technology today allows people to change their voice easily.

Once the bank transfer is completed, the scammers just block the victim, who are unable to identify tricksters due to the end-to-end encryption that comes with most of today’s messaging software.

“Through this scam, I lost $50,” said Dara (a fake moniker), a private company employee in Phnom Penh.

“I was looking for an online sexual service because I thought it was risky for me to go to a brothel, which can be raided by the police. But instead, I was scammed.”

Cheang Sey, a carpenter, and another Telegram user, “I was tricked, after I contacted an advert selling self-produced sexual material but instead he was sent a 10-minute clip downloaded from a pornographic website,” he said.

To make it worse, the scammers are even using blackmail to extort even more money from their victims. This usually happens after the victims refused to transfer money for the “service”.

“When I refused to pay, the person demanded me to send her or him even more money, or they will screenshot our chat and my profile and post it online,” said another victim, who works as a government official and asked to remain anonymous.

“I could not allow that to happen. I could not risk humiliating myself by letting my boss and my colleagues know I was looking for sexual services. So I had no choice but to comply with the fraudster and send $200.”

Khmer Times’ journalist went undercover and discovered several Telegram accounts involved in such activities. Some examples include Sok Sreypich, Oun Tey, Miin Make Love, Mari Ka, Oun Li Nat and Oun Mean, all of which are active on Telegram Groups.

Real sex workers are also worried about these fraudsters, as it will affect their business. For instance, Kolab, a freelance sex worker who has been relying on digital marketing to find her clients, has seen a dip in her clients due to the general belief that she is also a scammer.

“People may hate our profession but we are also working women who do honest jobs,” she said. “We are selling our blood and flesh for the sake of living and I cannot believe how evil some people are to produce such scams which can cost us our living.”

While the frauds, according to Cambodian law, are illegal, all the victims who Khmer Times talked to said they preferred losing their money instead of reporting it to the police, which they see as a humiliation.

“I simply saw it as bad karma for me, as I wanted extra-marital sex,” Dara said.

Deputy National Police Chief Lieutenant General Chea Pov, who is in charge of Anti-Cyber Crime, recognised sex fraud occurrence in Cambodia, is due to the improvement of internet technology in the country but claimed the swindlers came from other countries.

“This was not originated in Cambodia,” he said. “The scammers copy the style from other countries where this fraudulent activity has been in operation for several years.”

Reports have shown people in other countries have fallen victim to these sex frauds. As in China, the country with the strictest internet protocol and where prostitution is illegal. Scammers are targeting men by using “Nude Chat” and exploiting many men who have resorted to online hookups to satisfy their sexual desires. A man reportedly lost nearly US$1 million in a few minutes due to this scam.

Lieutenant General Pov confirmed, his department does not have statistics on these fraudulent activities and therefore, is having difficulties tracking down the scammers due to the victims’ “choice” to remain silent.

“Online sex scamming is a very difficult case and it is also hard to determine the identity of scammers,” he added. “The police cannot curb online sex scamming without the contribution from people. People must talk and share knowledge about this online sex scam with their friends and relatives until it spreads across the country to curb this illegal activity.”

Chou Bun Eng, Vice Chairwoman of the National Committee for Anti-Human Trafficking, “Dealing with the online sex scammers is the same as dealing with invisible enemies.” she said.

“Scammers are scattered across the country, they are also tech-savvy and come up with well-planned schemes to trap victims,” she said.

“The exchange of sex for money online is not illegal as long as both sides give consent, but when scams are involved, that is a different story.”

Bunn Rachana, Co-founder and Executive Director of Klahaan, a non-profit organisation working on issues that affect women in Cambodia, “Our organisation has been cooperating with the government to fight this online fraud.”

“We educate people in our seminars and target people between 15 to 30 years of age in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, and Battambang province where online scamming is still prevalent,” she said.

“Still, we cannot keep track of the progress since most of the victims do not report the cases. What we must do now is suppress and curb the scammers and educate people, especially the youth, to clearly know about these illegal operations and the monetary and shameful consequences which will occur after falling into the scammer’s trap.”

it's much much much easier to get your digital money taken out of your pocket via tinder and tantan (Chinese app but also big in Cambodia) as you can directly (in the chat itself) transfer red packages (with basically unlimited amounts of money)f and then it's a go (or a "you have been blocked").

any man here who hasn't been scammed by a beauty online before? I mean come on, I would assume it's minimum 50 % of all (especially those OVER 35 not growing up with the sense of online self-protection but learning it the hard way)

John Bingham wrote: ↑Tue Jan 10, 2023 5:22 pm I've never been scammed by anyone online.

lucky man!!

forgot to say with regards to my above post I'm not talking about business style scam amounts of money or wedding dowry etc.. below 50 quid / case.

Never been scammed online and wouldn't ever think of getting involved with the subject of the OP. Over 35's may not have the "sense of online self-protection" but they do have what is commonly referred to as "common sense".

"Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it"

Mark Twain

Taken from the KT article: "Online sex fraud entrapping many Cambodian males"

Cheang Sey, a carpenter, and another Telegram user, “I was tricked, after I contacted an advert selling self-produced sexual material but instead he was sent a 10-minute clip downloaded from a pornographic website,” he said.

My reply to the editor:
Enough ! Dear sir and mrs important people(name here)and local media, please help Cambodian online porn fans to feel more at ease when downloading their porn. It is scandalous that mass-produced internet porn can be sold as natural homemade pornography.

...I think the most interesting point about this story isn't the fact scammers are popping up, but that so many local men have no easy way to find sex... The story also implies that victims are often already married. There's no Tinder, no Ashley Madison in Cambodia. Yawn. So why do they get married in the first place? Lol. Reproduction. Cannot not have kids in Asian society.

...It's easy for young Western people to connect casually, and has been for decades. But maybe not so for Asians, which explains why for example there has always been so much prostitution in Thailand, for Thais, not only foreigners.

These scammers take advantage of the ever-present and annoying neighborhood/family peanut gallery watching every move... That must be why all these Khmer guys want cars and trucks: social privacy...