Security News > 2022 > September > Cambodian authorities crack down on cyber slavery amid international pressure

Authorities in Sihanoukville, Cambodia announced on Sunday that a raid last week uncovered evidence of forced labor cybercrime syndicates that participated in human trafficking and torture.

The five-day operation led to the discovery of 130 Chinese immigrants and 11 from Vietnamese, mostly all male, who had entered the country illegally, with 262 more foreigners working without permits.

Twenty-seven foreigners were sent in for questioning and 262 foreigners working without work permits were fined.

For years, traffickers in Cambodia have lured skilled workers across neighbouring Southeast Asian countries via social media and other tactics with promises of lucrative roles abroad. Once they arrive in Cambodia, a typical victim would have their passport confiscated and be forced to work long hours perpetrating crypto, online romance or other scams across the world against their will in slave-like conditions.

According to a former victim who spoke to the media, 10 to 20 "Workers" could bring in more than $900,000 profit using online fake personas.

Some of the scam operators set goals of contacting 500 targets per day and provided software that enabled 20 to 30 simultaneous Whatsapp logins and auto translation so that the "Workers" could meet goals.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/09/22/cambodian_authorities_crack_down_on/