Cambodia’s detention and extradition of a prominent tycoon accused of operating a massive online fraud network represents a rare blow to an industry that has siphoned off tens of billions of dollars globally.
Authorities in the United States and United Kingdom say Chen Zhi headed a cross-border criminal syndicate that exploited trafficked labourers and scammed victims across the world, reported The Associated Press (AP).
For those targeted, the scams usually begin innocently: a message offering part-time work, asking about weekend availability, or simply saying “hello.”
On the other side is often a worker thousands of miles away, forced to labour 12 to 16 hours a day, sending countless messages until someone replies.
The human cost is enormous.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be trapped in forced labour, housed in large compounds throughout Southeast Asia and compelled to run scams designed solely to steal money.
Despite a high-profile arrest, dismantling the industry remains extremely challenging. Here’s why:
The crackdown in Myanmar
Last October, Myanmar’s military entered one of the most notorious scam hubs — the vast KK Park near the Thai border — and declared the operation shut down.
Yet
activity has continued at other scam centres in Myanmar, where trafficked workers from around the world still await rescue.
The raid sparked a mass exodus of workers. Roughly 1,500 labourers crossed into Thailand, including hundreds from India as well as nationals from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Thai military officials later said troops demolished several buildings inside the massive complex.
KK Park was just one of dozens of such sites along the Thai-Myanmar border — and hundreds more across Southeast Asia — highlighting how difficult it is to dismantle an industry that can quickly relocate when pressured.
Emerging from casinos and illegal gambling
Scam compounds are typically large, rural complexes featuring dormitories, shops and entertainment facilities for workers.
Developers often construct a single property and lease out sections to multiple companies, allowing numerous scam operations to function side by side.
Many operate under the protection of influential local figures. Smaller operations also exist, hidden within a single floor of a legitimate office building or even inside rented homes in urban areas.
These centres evolved from casinos — both physical and online — that spread across Southeast Asia over the past decade. In 2021 alone, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime counted more than 340 licensed and unlicensed casinos in the region.
These casinos, often linked with junket tours, catered to wealthy gamblers from China, where gambling is illegal, and were frequently run by Chinese criminal groups.
When the Covid-19 pandemic and strict travel controls cut off customers, some online casinos adapted. As revenue dried up, operators shifted to a new model, using the same infrastructure and workforce to scam people worldwide through digital fraud.
Relying on both trafficked and willing labour
According to a 2023 report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, an estimated 120,000 people in Myanmar are being forced to work in online scam operations, along with another 100,000 in Cambodia.
While these figures are approximate, investigators say scam centres depend on a mix of trafficked victims and workers who arrive voluntarily, lured by false promises of decent pay and easy office jobs.
In the early days, most workers came from China and Chinese-speaking countries. Today, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says recruits come from at least 56 countries, from Indonesia to Liberia.
For many, reality is far worse than advertised. Workers report that their passports are often confiscated to prevent escape.
Only senior managers and trusted aides are allowed to move freely. Those who fail to meet targets risk beatings or other forms of physical punishment.
A global scourge
Scammers target victims worldwide, increasingly using artificial intelligence-powered translation tools to overcome language barriers.
In the Philippines, authorities raided a compound in March 2024 where workers were targeting Chinese nationals with a fake investment scheme.
Using scripted messages, scammers posed as senior employees of the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp and persuaded victims to invest in crude oil futures, according to a script seen by AP.
Elsewhere, the impact has been equally widespread. Last year, about 50 South Koreans were repatriated from Cambodia after being arrested over several months on allegations they worked for online scam operations.
US prosecutors have also pursued the networks behind these schemes. In an indictment against Chen Zhi last year, prosecutors said his organisation had scammed at least 250 Americans out of millions of dollars, including one victim who lost $400,000 in cryptocurrency.
Americans lost at least $10 billion to scams tied to Southeast Asia in 2024 alone, according to the US Treasury Department.
Cambodian authorities said Wednesday that Chen Zhi and two other Chinese citizens were extradited to China on Tuesday. Chen holds dual nationality, and his Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December, officials said.
The victims
The scams take many forms, from cryptocurrency investment fraud to so-called “task scams,” where victims are asked to pay to unlock the next assignment. In some cases, small sums of real money are paid out early to build trust before losses grow.
Scammers often create a sense of urgency, warning targets they will miss out on an opportunity unless they invest by a specific deadline.
Despite government crackdowns and raids that have freed some workers and shut down individual compounds, activists say those running the operations largely remain untouched. New scam centres continue to emerge across Southeast Asia and beyond.
A United Nations report last year said scammers have extracted billions of dollars from victims using fake romantic relationships, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes, with operations reported as far away as Africa and Latin America.
“If we only rescue the victims and don’t arrest anybody — especially the Chinese mafia and transnational syndicates — then there will be no point,” said Jay Kritiya, coordinator of the Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking.
“They can get more victims. They can scam anytime,” Kritiya told AP.
With inputs from AP
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