Cambodia's intense raids expose foreign women's involvement in scam centres

The Star

19-07-2025

In this photo provided by state news service Agence Kampuchea Press, alleged online scammers arrested by authorities sit in a classroom on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 18, 2025. - AKP via AP
PHNOM PENH (Bernama): About 20 per cent of suspects arrested in Cambodia this week for alleged online scam crimes are women from developing countries.
The state media outlet Agence Kampuchea Presse reported that 2,270 suspects were detained across Cambodia, mostly from Southeast Asian and South Asian countries.
Among those arrested, more than 400 women came from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam.
"Many women go abroad to take up risky jobs because of poverty. They go overseas just to try their luck and sometimes end up in dangerous jobs.
"There are fewer employment opportunities in Bangladesh, especially for women. And there are no strict rules and regulations to protect women,' Organisation for Women Development in Bangladesh Chief Executive Shyamoli Mazumder told Bernama from Dhaka.
In the latest crime-busting operation, 27 Bangladeshi women were detained.
The Secretariat of the Commission for Combatting Technology Fraud released this data on July 18, following a nationwide operation by security personnel to eliminate cyber crimes.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet instructed law enforcement authorities to dismantle online scam operations, resulting in a coordinated crackdown on these criminal activities.
Since the prime minister's announcement, authorities have carried out major operations in 12 capitals across the kingdom, exposing major online scam centres which led to the arrest of thousands of workers.
Most of the online scam operations are run by foreign syndicates and are linked to human trafficking.
Regional governments from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are cleaning up notorious cybercrime hubs that have been luring young job seekers, who are promised attractive salaries and perks but end up in online crimes.
According to Myanmar's Information Ministry, about 9,000 foreign nationals engaged in online gambling and internet scams were arrested between January and May this year.
The Interpol in its June report highlighted the risks of human trafficking for forced online fraud centres, where victims are drawn into fake schemes through false job advertisements and detained in compounds where they are forced to carry out online scams.
Initially, online scam centres were concentrated in South-East Asia and most human trafficking victims were Chinese-speaking and sourced from Asia.
The past three years have witnessed victims trafficked into Southeast Asia from faraway regions.
"This geographical expansion has been facilitated both by transnational organised crime groups linked to Asia and through similar methods employed by local or regional groups,' said Interpol. - Bernama