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crime11h ago
What are scam centres – explained in 30 seconds
- The article explains scam centres as compounds linked to criminal networks driving a global online fraud industry.
- Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are identified as havens for the scam industry amid border-area lawlessness.
- Satellite imagery and UN data show scam operations doubled along the Thai–Myanmar border since 2021.
- Hundreds of thousands have been trafficked, with UN data indicating about 120,000 in Myanmar and 100,000 in Cambodia forced to work in centres.
- The industry is global, drawing people from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America to scam victims worldwide.
- Victims are held against their will inside centres and coerced to generate income through online scams using social apps.
- Inside centres, workers are sometimes tortured, with reports of beatings and electric shocks.
- Thailand has begun cracking down by cutting off electricity, fuel and internet to disrupt centres.
- Myanmar’s military raided a major scam centre, detaining thousands and seizing Starlink terminals.
- Experts warn South-east Asia is ground zero for the global scamming industry.
- The report notes a broader pattern of human trafficking, slavery and money laundering linked to scam operations.
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