Over 5,000 Indians are trapped in Cambodia, where they are allegedly being held against their will and forced to carry out cyber frauds on people back home. The government estimates that the fraudsters have allegedly duped people of at least Rs 500 crore in India over the past six months.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) held a meeting with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and other security experts to draw up a strategy to rescue the Indians trapped in Cambodia.
“The agenda of their meeting was to discuss the organised racket and bring back those who are trapped there. Data shows that Rs 500 crore has been lost (to cyber fraud originating in Cambodia) in India in the last six months,” the source said, adding that the investigation by Central agencies has so far revealed that agents were trapping people, mostly those from the southern part of the country, and sending them to Cambodia on the pretext of data entry jobs before forcing them to carry out cyber frauds.
The source said those trapped in Cambodia were forced to scam people back in India and, in some cases, extort money by pretending to be law enforcement officials and saying that they had found some suspicious materials in their parcels.
So far, three people from Bengaluru who were trapped in Cambodia have been brought back to India.
The matter came to light after the Rourkela Police in Odisha busted a cyber-crime syndicate on December 30 last year, arresting eight people who were allegedly involved in taking people to Cambodia.
Sharing details of the Rourkela Police’s operation, an officer said the case was based on the complaint of a senior Central government officer who had been duped of around Rs 70 lakh. “We arrested eight persons from different parts of the country and we have prima facie evidence against multiple people who are involved in the scam. We issued Look Out Circulars against 16 people, following which the Bureau of Immigration this week detained two persons, Harish Kurapati and Naga Venkata Sowjanya Kurapati, at the Hyderabad airport while they were returning from Cambodia,” the officer said.
Dr Arathi Krishna, Deputy Chairman of the Non-Resident Indian Forum of the Government of Karnataka (NRIFK), told The Indian Express that three from the state trapped in Cambodia were rescued with the help of the MEA. “Our organisation was approached by their family members and they informed us that they went to work as data entry operators, but were forced to carry out cyber scams. Our organisation coordinated with the MEA and the Indian embassy in Cambodia to bring them back,” she said, adding that the three rescued persons told them that there are around 200 more people from the region who are trapped in Cambodia.
One of the rescued men, Stephen, told The Indian Express, “An agent in Mangaluru offered me a data entry job in Cambodia. I have an ITI degree and did some computer courses during Covid. There were three of us, including someone called Babu Rao from Andhra. At the immigration, the agent mentioned that we were going on a tourist visa, which raised my suspicion. In Cambodia, we were taken to an office space, where they held an interview and the two of us cleared it. They tested our typing speeds etc. It’s only later that we got to know that our job involved looking for profiles on Facebook and identifying people who can be scammed. The team was Chinese, but there was a Malaysian who translated their instructions to us in English.”
Talking about his daily schedule, Stephen said, “We had to create fake social media accounts with photographs of women sourced from different platforms. But we were told to be careful while picking these photos. So a South Indian girl’s profile would be used to trap someone in the North so that it did not raise any suspicion. We had targets and if we didn’t meet those, they would not give us food or allow us into our rooms. Finally, after a month and a half, I contacted my family and they took the help of some local politicians to speak to the embassy,” he said.
Rourkela Sub Divisional Police Officer Upasana Padhi told The Indian Express that the accused were agents who took men — potential scamsters — to Cambodia on the pretext of jobs. “But once they land in Cambodia, they are made to join these companies that indulge in fraud. The companies take away the passports of these men and make them work 12 hours a day. If anybody refuses to do the work that is asked of him, he is tortured by way of physical assaults, electric shocks, solitary confinement, etc. Many Indians who are not willing to engage in such scams are trapped there. We are trying to identify them, contact them and try to bring them back to India through proper channels,” Padhi said.
Talking about the nature of the scam, the officer said the men were initially made to join a “scamming company” in Phnom Penh in April 2023.
There, the scamsters were forced to pose as women on dating apps and chat with their potential targets. “After some time, the scamster would convince his target to invest in cryptocurrency trading. This way, many people were duped in India,” Padhi said.
According to the Rourkela Police, in October 2023, the agents got the men to join another company which focused on investment scams. “This company lured people to invest in fake stocks. They also created a fake online app,” the officer said.
“We have also gathered critical information regarding the location of the fraud companies, their operatives, their working style and their management hierarchy. We have identified three key high-level operatives of Indian origin and one high-level operative who is of Nepalese origin. We intend to take the help of Interpol to arrest key players in this scam,” Padhi added.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... e-9239156/
5000+ Indians trapped in cyberscam work in Cambodia
- Bong Burgundy
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5000+ Indians trapped in cyberscam work in Cambodia
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- Prahok
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Cambodia had a mention yesterday on a CNN piece on SE Asia human trafficking
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/28/asia ... index.html
It cites 120,000 people trapped in Myanmar alone, with another 100,000 in other parts of SE Asia.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/28/asia ... index.html
It cites 120,000 people trapped in Myanmar alone, with another 100,000 in other parts of SE Asia.
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This has been going on for how many years now? Until the authorities take concrete action and close these places down there won't be any real investment or trust.
It's an open secret who the real backers are but seems they are unable to be reined in, even after pressure from the CCP and others. Reality is this could be shutdown tomorrow easily, but there is no real will for it.
It's an open secret who the real backers are but seems they are unable to be reined in, even after pressure from the CCP and others. Reality is this could be shutdown tomorrow easily, but there is no real will for it.
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Of course there's no will.Marley's Ghost wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:32 pmThis has been going on for how many years now? Until the authorities take concrete action and close these places down there won't be any real investment or trust.
It's an open secret who the real backers are but seems they are unable to be reined in, even after pressure from the CCP and others. Reality is this could be shutdown tomorrow easily, but there is no real will for it.
Government officials at the very top won't shoot themselves in the foot by allowing a real investigation
- Mike Farce
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Well they seem to be putting a lot of effort into denying that these scams are happening:logos wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 3:04 pmOf course there's no will.Marley's Ghost wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:32 pmThis has been going on for how many years now? Until the authorities take concrete action and close these places down there won't be any real investment or trust.
It's an open secret who the real backers are but seems they are unable to be reined in, even after pressure from the CCP and others. Reality is this could be shutdown tomorrow easily, but there is no real will for it.
Government officials at the very top won't shoot themselves in the foot by allowing a real investigation
https://cambodianess.com/article/pm-war ... -narrativePHNOM PENH – HM has warned that scammers who make up stories about human trafficking or torture in Cambodia will face legal actions, when their narrative happens not to be true. Penalties can go up to a life-long interdiction from entering Cambodia or jail sentences.
Strict law enforcement for such cases is needed to guarantee a sense of security and bury fake news, Manet said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Chak Angrae Kraom-Prek Pra bridge crossing the Bassac River on Feb. 19.
“The news about kidnapping and abuse cases in Cambodia scare international tourists, especially Chinese, from visiting the country because they believe such stories are real. This severely affects the tourism and business sectors in the country as a whole,” Manet added.
Cambodian Authorities Dispute Thai Government’s Account of Scam Compound Rescue in O’Smach
https://cambojanews.com/cambodian-autho ... ZHamXYMrVQ
And they wonder why there are no Chinese tourists.
I have well-travelled chinese friends who have been to Cambodia but say no way they are coming back with this shit going on.
I have well-travelled chinese friends who have been to Cambodia but say no way they are coming back with this shit going on.
There’s a dodgy place near me who have a steady flow of Pakistani guys come and go. Two or three guys are always dealing with them and they always hold their passports.
At an estimated I’d say they have about 20 to 40 a week. Never to be seen again.
At an estimated I’d say they have about 20 to 40 a week. Never to be seen again.
- Bong Burgundy
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130 complaints received, over 75 Indians rescued by embassy in Cambodia: Senior official
AROUND 130 complaints of Indians trapped in Cambodia have been received by the Indian embassy in Phnom Penh and as many as 75 people, who were forced to carry out cyber frauds there, have been rescued so far, said Avaran Abraham, Second Secretary (Consular and Diaspora) on Friday.
Over 5,000 Indians are allegedly being held against their will in Cambodia and being forced to carry out cyber frauds on people back home, said sources. According to government estimates, the “fraudsters” have allegedly duped people in India of at least Rs 500 crore over the last six months. A source said those trapped in Cambodia were forced to extort money from people by pretending to be law enforcement officials, saying they had found some suspicious materials in their parcels.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) held a meeting with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and other security experts to draw up a strategy to rescue the Indians trapped in Cambodia.
Abraham told The Indian Express over phone that they are getting four to five complaints on an average almost regularly from different parts of Cambodia. “The moment we get a request we inform the police. We also guide them on how to travel to the embassy, and since they are in trauma we even counsel them.”
“The problem which should be highlighted is that when these people are being rescued and getting back to India, invariably, they are not filing an FIR with the police. It is only when FIRs are filed, the Indian police will be able to get to these agents/companies,” he said.
“We are in regular coordination with the MHA. Whenever we get details of any agents, we share those with them. When people file FIR, only then the police will come into the picture,” the senior official said.
Abraham said that people who are stranded in these companies approach the embassy, which then through local Cambodian authorities tries to rescue them. “In the first three months of this year, around 130 people have approached us through different helplines. Out of them, more than 75 people have been rescued from January 1 to till date. This figure also includes those who have escaped themselves,” he said.
“These people are actually coming (to Cambodia) thinking that it’s a data entry job, but the agents are misleading them. It’s only when they are here they come to know that they have been trapped. Even then, not all want to get out immediately, most are from poor backgrounds and some of them have paid hefty amounts to the agents and believe that they will somehow recover the amount and then try getting out,” he said.
Abraham said at the same time, there are some who want to get out immediately and look for rescue. “…So, those escaping out don’t get their passports back from these companies… In such cases, when they approach the embassy, we help them with travel documents with which they can immediately go back to India. In most of the cases, the Cambodian authorities have helped in rescue and when the police carry out rescue operations, they also get their passports back,” he said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... l-9241078/
AROUND 130 complaints of Indians trapped in Cambodia have been received by the Indian embassy in Phnom Penh and as many as 75 people, who were forced to carry out cyber frauds there, have been rescued so far, said Avaran Abraham, Second Secretary (Consular and Diaspora) on Friday.
Over 5,000 Indians are allegedly being held against their will in Cambodia and being forced to carry out cyber frauds on people back home, said sources. According to government estimates, the “fraudsters” have allegedly duped people in India of at least Rs 500 crore over the last six months. A source said those trapped in Cambodia were forced to extort money from people by pretending to be law enforcement officials, saying they had found some suspicious materials in their parcels.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) held a meeting with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and other security experts to draw up a strategy to rescue the Indians trapped in Cambodia.
Abraham told The Indian Express over phone that they are getting four to five complaints on an average almost regularly from different parts of Cambodia. “The moment we get a request we inform the police. We also guide them on how to travel to the embassy, and since they are in trauma we even counsel them.”
“The problem which should be highlighted is that when these people are being rescued and getting back to India, invariably, they are not filing an FIR with the police. It is only when FIRs are filed, the Indian police will be able to get to these agents/companies,” he said.
“We are in regular coordination with the MHA. Whenever we get details of any agents, we share those with them. When people file FIR, only then the police will come into the picture,” the senior official said.
Abraham said that people who are stranded in these companies approach the embassy, which then through local Cambodian authorities tries to rescue them. “In the first three months of this year, around 130 people have approached us through different helplines. Out of them, more than 75 people have been rescued from January 1 to till date. This figure also includes those who have escaped themselves,” he said.
“These people are actually coming (to Cambodia) thinking that it’s a data entry job, but the agents are misleading them. It’s only when they are here they come to know that they have been trapped. Even then, not all want to get out immediately, most are from poor backgrounds and some of them have paid hefty amounts to the agents and believe that they will somehow recover the amount and then try getting out,” he said.
Abraham said at the same time, there are some who want to get out immediately and look for rescue. “…So, those escaping out don’t get their passports back from these companies… In such cases, when they approach the embassy, we help them with travel documents with which they can immediately go back to India. In most of the cases, the Cambodian authorities have helped in rescue and when the police carry out rescue operations, they also get their passports back,” he said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... l-9241078/
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- Prahok
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Economic incentives in host nations keeps these people enslaved, whilst political expediency in victims' home nations provides pressure for their salvation.
Hence the importance of movies and social media, as politicians are rather sensitive about their professional longevity. As a motivator, Modi's chauvanism and Xi's ambitions trump human rights and the rule of law.
Hence the importance of movies and social media, as politicians are rather sensitive about their professional longevity. As a motivator, Modi's chauvanism and Xi's ambitions trump human rights and the rule of law.
- Bong Burgundy
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The Indian government has so far rescued 250 citizens in Cambodia who were forced to run online scams.
They were promised jobs but "forced to undertake illegal cyber work", India's foreign ministry said.
Recent reports have said more than 5,000 Indians stuck in Cambodia were forced to operate cyber-fraud schemes.
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are estimated to have fallen prey to human traffickers running job scams in South East Asia.
Victims, mostly young and tech-savvy, are promised jobs and then lured into illegal online work ranging from money laundering and crypto fraud to so-called love scams, where they pose as lovers online.
A UN report said in August 2023 that at least 120,000 people in Myanmar, and another 100,000 in Cambodia, were forced into operating cyber-fraud schemes.
Lured and trapped into scam slavery in South East Asia
Hundreds of thousands forced to scam in SE Asia: UN
This is the latest in a series of rescues of such victims in South East Asia. In March, police rescued hundreds of people from a scam centre in Philippines where they were forced to fool people by expressing romantic interest online under a fake identity. A few weeks before that, China repatriated hundreds of its citizens from scam centres in Myanmar.
Over the weekend, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India's foreign ministry, said that the country was working closely with Cambodian authorities to "crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes".
India said it had rescued 75 people in the past three months while the timeline for the rest isn't clear.
The BBC has emailed the Cambodian embassy in India for comment.
Last week, the Indian Express newspaper reported that India's embassy in Phnom Penh had received 130 complaints of Indians being held in Cambodia against their will.
They were among thousands of others who were allegedly forced to scam people in India or in some cases, extort money from them by pretending to be law enforcement officials.
The victims in India had been duped of a total of at least 5bn rupees ($59m; £47m) in the past six months, the newspaper reported.
In another report, the paper quoted an official in India's embassy in Cambodia as saying that they received four-five complaints every day on average from people trapped in Cambodia after being offered jobs.
One of the rescued men, identified only as Stephen, told the newspaper that he was recruited by an agent from the southern Indian city of Mangaluru and offered a data entry job in Cambodia.
After reaching the country, he says he was asked to create fake social media accounts with photographs of women and use them to contact people.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68705913
They were promised jobs but "forced to undertake illegal cyber work", India's foreign ministry said.
Recent reports have said more than 5,000 Indians stuck in Cambodia were forced to operate cyber-fraud schemes.
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are estimated to have fallen prey to human traffickers running job scams in South East Asia.
Victims, mostly young and tech-savvy, are promised jobs and then lured into illegal online work ranging from money laundering and crypto fraud to so-called love scams, where they pose as lovers online.
A UN report said in August 2023 that at least 120,000 people in Myanmar, and another 100,000 in Cambodia, were forced into operating cyber-fraud schemes.
Lured and trapped into scam slavery in South East Asia
Hundreds of thousands forced to scam in SE Asia: UN
This is the latest in a series of rescues of such victims in South East Asia. In March, police rescued hundreds of people from a scam centre in Philippines where they were forced to fool people by expressing romantic interest online under a fake identity. A few weeks before that, China repatriated hundreds of its citizens from scam centres in Myanmar.
Over the weekend, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India's foreign ministry, said that the country was working closely with Cambodian authorities to "crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes".
India said it had rescued 75 people in the past three months while the timeline for the rest isn't clear.
The BBC has emailed the Cambodian embassy in India for comment.
Last week, the Indian Express newspaper reported that India's embassy in Phnom Penh had received 130 complaints of Indians being held in Cambodia against their will.
They were among thousands of others who were allegedly forced to scam people in India or in some cases, extort money from them by pretending to be law enforcement officials.
The victims in India had been duped of a total of at least 5bn rupees ($59m; £47m) in the past six months, the newspaper reported.
In another report, the paper quoted an official in India's embassy in Cambodia as saying that they received four-five complaints every day on average from people trapped in Cambodia after being offered jobs.
One of the rescued men, identified only as Stephen, told the newspaper that he was recruited by an agent from the southern Indian city of Mangaluru and offered a data entry job in Cambodia.
After reaching the country, he says he was asked to create fake social media accounts with photographs of women and use them to contact people.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68705913
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