Phnom Penh (VNA) – Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia Santo Darmosumarto has announced that 440 Indonesians were freed by cyberscam networks in Cambodia from January 1 to 18, 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.
According to experts, Cambodia’s recent arrest and deportation of Chinese-born businessman Chen Zhi, who is accused of running online scam networks, has had a strong impact, prompting many scam groups to fear legal consequences and proactively release people or withdraw from their compounds. However, analysts say this does not yet signal an end to online scam operations in Cambodia.
Cambodian authorities said around 5,000 people have been arrested in anti-scam crackdowns over the past six months./.
Cambodia arrests 75 online scam suspects
They were apprehended on January 16 during raids on a hotel and a guesthouse in the capital Phnom Penh for allegedly conducting online scams and staying in the kingdom illegally, it said.
