Thailand ready to welcome 7,000 trafficked scam call center victims back from Myanmar
It comes amid a major crackdown on the abusive industry that started during COVID
Thailand is preparing to receive thousands of people rescued from scam call centers in Myanmar as the country launches a major crackdown on the pervasive criminal activity across its border.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said around 7,000 individuals are awaiting transfer to Thailand and confirmed the government was working as quickly as possible to remedy the issue.
Countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos have become hotspots for illegal scam call centers in recent years, with many staffed by people who were illegally trafficked into them.
Two years ago, the United Nations said the number of trafficked call center staff may run into the hundreds of thousands, citing "credible sources."
In fact, Interpol warned as far back as 2023 that the practice, which is tantamount to modern slavery, is expanding beyond Southeast Asia into South America and the Middle East. The agency started tracking the phenomenon in 2021.
Interpol said at the time that India had recently registered its first case of human trafficking for cyber fraud and that illicit organizations in Myanmar had trafficked individuals from at least 22 different countries. Hundreds of investigations remain open.
The international policing agency re-upped its concerns last year, saying all signs pointed to the practice continuing to grow on a global scale.
"We are facing an epidemic in the growth of financial fraud, leading to individuals, often vulnerable people, and companies being defrauded on a massive and global scale," said Jürgen Stock, secretary general at Interpol in March 2024.
He went on to say that advancements in technology, such as cryptocurrencies and AI that can increase the authenticity of scams, are only accelerating this growth and must be stopped with coordinated action.
"It is important that there are no safe havens for financial fraudsters to operate," he added. "We must close existing gaps and ensure information sharing between sectors and across borders is the norm, not the exception.
"We also need to encourage greater reporting of financial crime as well as invest in capacity building and training for law enforcement to develop a more effective and truly global response."
Many of the call centers staffed by trafficked people focus on romance scamming – targeting vulnerable individuals over a lengthy period of time, building trust, and ultimately swindling victims for large sums of money.
The UK's Action Fraud says common tactics involve showering victims with affection to build bonds quickly and then asking them to send money for various fictitious reasons, such as emergency medical care.
In the US, it's a billion-dollar industry that can net individuals millions of dollars each.
Many victims are left feeling ashamed, embarrassed, financially insecure, and even more vulnerable than they were before the scam. But for the people trafficked into the line of work, scamming victims is a matter of survival – a product of the abject abuse to which they're exposed.
People are often lured to countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos using fake job adverts. They secure a job, travel to a different country – often at the expense of the scam operators, have their passports confiscated, and are then told to work off their debts in illegal call centers.
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These jobs range from basic, low-skill roles to high-paying positions in fields such as IT, marketing, and modeling.
Interpol said victims are not only exploited financially, but are often beaten, sexually abused, and in rare cases individuals have even had their organs harvested.
The UK, US, Interpol, and other global law enforcement agencies are working to counter the growth of human trafficking in general, including related scam call centers.
Thailand recently partnered with China in its efforts to stamp out the practice. In January, the pair announced new coordination centers will be established in Bangkok and Mae Sot with officers working on call center cases. ®