30-8-2023 (YANGON) The United Nations Human Rights Office revealed on Tuesday, citing “credible sources,” that approximately 120,000 individuals in Myanmar and around 100,000 in Cambodia are being coerced by organized criminal gangs into working in online scam centers. According to the report, neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, including Laos, the Philippines, and Thailand, have also been identified as key destinations or transit points for these criminal operations, involving tens of thousands of people engaged in illegal online activities such as romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and online gambling.
The report further stated that the scam centers in the region generate billions of dollars in revenue each year. While the majority of individuals trafficked into these online scam operations are men, women and adolescents are also among the victims. Surprisingly, many of the victims are well-educated, computer-literate, and multilingual, some even holding professional jobs or possessing graduate and post-graduate degrees.
The COVID-19 pandemic played a role in driving the expansion of online scams. As casino turnovers decreased due to pandemic restrictions, operators in various countries shifted their gambling businesses to less regulated spaces, including conflict-affected border areas and the increasingly profitable online realm. Additionally, the fact that people spent more time online made them more susceptible to becoming targets of online fraud schemes and fraudulent recruitment.
According to the report, the victims of these scams endure a range of serious violations and abuses, including torture, cruel and degrading treatment, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, and forced labor. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, emphasized that those coerced into working in these scamming operations are not only perpetrators but also victims themselves. He called for justice for those who have been defrauded while recognizing the complexity of the issue.
Online scams, also known as internet scams or telecom fraud, have remained a persistent social problem not only in Asia but worldwide. China’s Ministry of Public Security reported that an increasing number of telecom fraud organizations have relocated their operations outside of China to evade police crackdowns in recent years.
Since the beginning of this year, Chinese police have collaborated with law enforcement agencies from the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, resulting in the arrest of over 300 suspects involved in telecom fraud. These cases are currently under investigation, according to the ministry.
