BANGKOK – The Prime Minister of Thailand, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has ordered the authorities to demonstrate tangible achievements in the fight against cybercrime and scam gangs operating out of Cambodia within three months.
On Monday, she presided over a meeting with the police and security teams to discuss the current situation regarding scamming activities such as computer-based communication centers in Cambodia. Cambodia has turned into a cybercrime den for groups that exploit victims from different parts of the world.
After the meeting, Ms. Paetongtarn mentioned that the government plans to intensify its fight against cybercrime which is organized by criminals and poses a serious threat to both security and the economy. According to her, there are already some measures in place and Thailand has made the immigration rules stricter to prevent the flow of gamblers to the Cambodian casinos and has also terminated some internet connections believed to be involved in the scams.
The PM also considered cutting off fuel and electricity supplies to Cambodia. However, Hun Manet, the Cambodian leader, has already taken steps to cease these imports from Thailand as of last weekend. Paetongtarn estimated that the measures taken by Thailand have resulted in a loss of about 30 million baht for the scam rings operating in Cambodia.
In a similar situation, Police Inspector-General Tatchai Pitaneelaboot proclaimed that Thailand will be the venue for a police summit of the ten ASEAN nations at the end of July with a focus on the issue of cross-border scams. He reported that the gangsters have deceived or lured people from 36 countries to work in call centers in Myanmar and Cambodia.
scam call centers in cambodia
Scam Gangs in Cambodia
The victims are usually young and technologically proficient, falling mostly from Vietnam, Thailand, India, and China. They are offered fake job ads with high salary promises to win them over.
As soon as they get to their destination, they are taken to remote places, deprived of their IDs and made to participate in the frauds under constant threat and the use of violence. Many victims experience beatings, electric shocks or even starvation if they do not meet their quotas, while others are simply sold to different gangs or held for ransom.
The United Nations figures that around 100,000 individuals are caught in these criminal networks in Cambodia, being mistreated and sometimes even killed.
These scam groups are constantly expanding thanks to the existing lax laws, corruption and their connections with powerful people in Cambodia. A case in point is Senator Ly Yong Phat, who is said to have had his O-Smach Resort associated with the scamming activities.
Though on certain occasions, the police carry out operations to raid these places and liberate individuals (as in Poipet last year when 215 foreigners were rescued), critics argue that these raids mostly target smaller gangs, and the bigger ones that possess political protection are never touched.
Cambodia has received quite a bit of attention from foreign states as well as the USA, which has imposed sanctions against people like Ly Yong Phat, for instance, and thus has put pressure on the country. The human trafficking reports have not only been detrimental but also led to a rating downgrade of the whole country. However, the shadow of the trade still lingers on as the cloning of the scams is still happening in such places as casinos, hotels, and special economic zones.
Those who try to get to the bottom of the matter are met with significant harassment and even threats, which says a lot about how frequently crime and government interests are interconnected. Rescues and the UN’s investigations bring the situation of forced labor and ill-treatment to light, but it is very rare for the criminals behind the scene to be convicted.
For more details, you can either check the U.S. Treasury sanctions list or see reports issued by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
