PHNOM PENH: More than 400 Indonesians were freed by cyberscam networks in Cambodia this month, Jakarta said on Monday (Jan 19), after Phnom Penh announced a fresh crackdown following the arrest of an alleged boss of the illicit industry.
Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia, some willingly and others trafficked, lure internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments, netting tens of billions of dollars each year.
Hundreds of foreign nationals have left suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month as the government pledged to “eliminate” problems related to the online fraud trade, which the United Nations says employs at least 100,000 people in Cambodia alone.
Recent Cambodian law enforcement measures resulted in “many online scam syndicates … letting their workers go”, Indonesia’s ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, said in a video posted to social media.
From Jan 1 to 18, 440 Indonesians came to the embassy in Phnom Penh after they were “released by online scam syndicates”, many seeking to return home, according to a post on Instagram.
“Because Cambodia’s crackdown will continue, the embassy predicts many more will flow in from the provinces,” Santo said.
Some who went to the embassy were “involved in online scams for years, some only arrived in Cambodia a few months ago”, he said.
“Some still hold their passports, while others had their passports confiscated by the syndicates; some have overstayed, while others still have valid residence permits in Cambodia” and hoped to “find other work”.
Santo said the embassy would expedite repatriations but all Indonesians were “being directed to return home independently”, and warned against getting involved in criminal activity abroad.
Source: CNA
