<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/19/myanmar-scam-call-centre-compound-rescues-thailand-crackdown>
"About 7,000 people have been rescued from illegal call centre operations in
Myanmar and were waiting to be transferred to Thailand, prime minister
Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Wednesday, as the country launched a large-scale
crackdown on scam centres operating on the border.
The prime minister’s announcement came after Thai police said they were
preparing to receive up to 10,000 foreigners rescued from a network of
notorious scam centres.
Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, which share borders with Thailand, have in recent
years become havens for transnational crime syndicates operating online scam
operations, including romance scams, bogus investments and illegal gambling.
“It’s massive and there are thousands of people in there that have been brought
in, typically through Thailand, so it’s a huge move if they clean the compounds
and scams out,” said Jeremy Douglas, from the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC), ahead of the PM’s confirmation.
Myanmar’s border area of Myawaddy, where foreign nationals are expected to be
released, has among the largest single cluster of scam compounds in the region,
and possibly the world, said Douglas.
The operations have become increasingly globalised, with victims from across
Asia, Africa, and the Middle East tricked into enslaved work. Scams targeting
east and south-east Asians resulted in financial losses between $18bn and $37bn
in 2023, the UN estimates."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
