Amnesty says Cambodia scam compounds increase despite government crackdown

A report by Amnesty International casts doubt on the impact of Cambodia's high-profile scam industry crackdown, finding authorities failed to dismantle the "vast majority" of operations.

Human rights groups say online scam operations in Cambodia remain active, despite public pledges by senior Cambodian government officials to eliminate scam centres by April. After those announcements, rights organisations continued to monitor the authorities’ crackdown on scam-related crime. They have issued two updates this year, one in January and another in early June. In […]

PHNOM PENH — Dozens of suspected global scam compounds in Cambodia are still in operation despite a months-long crackdown by authorities, Amnesty International said in a report on Monday. Of 86 sites identified as scam centres, the government had intervened at only 24 locations, the UK-based human rights group said in the 176-page report.

Cambodia has failed to dismantle much of its online scam industry despite a year-long crackdown that authorities said would eliminate it, according to an Amnesty International report that challenges official claims of success. The London-based rights group said it identified 86 scam compounds operating across Cambodia as of April, up from 53 a year earlier, and found evidence of state intervention at only 24 sites during the government’s campaign. That contrasts with official statements that...

Cambodia, alongside Myanmar and Laos, has become a hub for scam compounds where trafficked workers are often forced to carry out fraud schemes.

Cambodia has failed to dismantle much of its online scam industry despite a yearlong crackdown that authorities said would eliminate it, according to an Amnesty International report that challenges official claims of success.