China on Thursday executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” involved in scam operations, state media reported. Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar’s lawless borderlands, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry. The centres are typically staffed by foreigners – including many Chinese – with many saying they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online. Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in recent years to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to China. The 11 people executed…
Tag: Scams
Thousands of workers flee Cambodia scam centres, officials say
Thousands of people, including suspected victims of human trafficking, are estimated to have been released or escaped from scam compounds across Cambodia over recent days, after growing international pressure to crackdown on the multibillion-dollar industry. The Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh said it had received reports from 1,440 of its nationals who had been released from scam centres, while large queues of Chinese nationals were also seen outside the Chinese embassy. Amnesty International said it had geolocated 15 videos and images, and reviewed social media posts that appear to show…
Alleged gambling kingpin linked to scam centres extradited from Thailand to China
She Zhijiang, an alleged transnational crime kingpin accused by Beijing of having run more than 200 illegal online gambling operations, is being extradited to China from Bangkok on Wednesday, Thai police have said. The Chinese national is perhaps the most prominent figure among Asia’s alleged cybercrime operators to be arrested, and has been linked to regional scam networks by the US. She, 43, a Chinese national who also holds a Cambodian passport, was arrested by Thai police in August 2022 on an international warrant and an Interpol red notice requested…
The Guardian view on the online scam industry: authorities must not forget that perpetrators are often victims too | Editorial
A Chinese court last month sentenced 11 people to death over their roles in a illegal scam empire along the border with Myanmar. But it won’t end a noxious multibillion-dollar industry that devastates the lives of two sets of victims. The first are those cheated out of money, often by people posing as potential romantic or business partners in what are known as “pig‑butchering” schemes. The second are those who are forced to cheat them, working in conditions amounting to modern slavery. The recent study, Scam: Inside Southeast Asia’s Cybercrime…
Chinese authority scams fleece international students in Australia of $5m in five months
Scammers pretending to be Chinese authorities are increasingly targeting international students in Australia, threatening “serious trouble” and 24-hour surveillance and fleecing them of more than $5m in just five months. The scammers claim to be Chinese law enforcement officers who demand that personal information or money be transferred to them. Some accuse students of criminal wrongdoing, such as receiving fake passports or credit cards. Victims may be told their identities are being used to commit financial crimes. In some cases, scammers say Australian authorities are planning to arrest and deport…
‘Everything is fake’: how global crime gangs are using UK shell companies in multi-million pound crypto scams
A woman meets a man online. They flirt. Then, after a few weeks, they begin imagining a future together. Fast forward a few months and one of them has had their heart broken and been defrauded of their life savings. It sounds like a classic romance scam, but it isn’t. This is “pig butchering”: a brutal, elaborate and rapidly expanding form of organised crime, often involving criminal syndicates, modern-day slaves and victims around the world. Since it came to prominence in 2021, the fraud – which involves scammers grooming their…