Cyber Scam Monitor (CSM)

NEW POST!! Despite claims from the Cambodian Government that it is tackling online crime sites, expansion in 2024 has been rapid. In this post we look at satellite imagery of 11 sites in Cambodia that started construction or expanded significantly in 2024. https://lnkd.in/em-eiqix

New post is up. The online scam industry has a strong base in Southeast Asia, but in recent years it has gone truly global. Nationals from all over the world travel to Southeast Asia to work in the sector. Some come willingly and in the knowledge the work is illegal; many others are duped with false job offers. Likewise, people from Southeast Asia have travelled to other parts of the world, where scam centres are popping up with increasing frequency. In this post we look at some of the recent reporting on the industry’s expanding scope. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e7F3TxuW

Will Jackson at ABC News writes on the role of volunteers in fighting the cyberscam industry in South-East Asia. https://lnkd.in/gPsaaMzg

Police impersonation scams targeting overseas Chinese students emerged in the past few years as one of the more insidious techniques used by scammers to groom and extort vulnerable targets. Often these scams are elaborate and aided by recent advancements in technology. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/erY-i3RF

We just posted another Substack article looking at the cybercrime industry in the Philippines. Despite ongoing raids on scam operations in the Philippines, crime related to the industry continues to trouble law enforcement. Calls for a ban on Philippine offshore gambling operations (POGOs) grow, while Filipinos continue to be rescued from overseas scam compounds. You can read here: https://lnkd.in/ebA65eXH And see our previous post on POGO raids in the Philippines here: https://lnkd.in/eec_7-Qk

In case there was any doubt, online gambling is being used as a front for scams, and workers are subjected to people trafficking; sexploitation and torture... Some of these companies sponsor football clubs…

New post up on Substack! In March, a large police raid hit a compound in Tarlac Province and found a sophisticated scam operation working under the cover of a licensed online gaming operator. This follows several other high-profile raids that have occurred since mid-2023 that found more than 5,000 workers, more than half of whom were foreigners. In all cases, trafficking, violence, and forced criminality have been reported. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eec_7-Qk

While it does not receive as much attention as Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, in part because it does not exist on the same industrial scale, cybercrime is rife in Malaysia, and almost weekly reports cover raids on scam operators. At the same time Malaysians continue to travel either willingly or under deception to scam sites across Southeast Asia and beyond. Read more in our latest Substack post! https://lnkd.in/eeuyrxd8

MYANMAR: This one was a bit delayed by ongoing developments, but here is the final part of our Myanmar article series, looking at the scam industry in Myawaddy, Tachileik, Yangon, recent raids and repatriations, and regional law enforcement actions. https://lnkd.in/eVTW6FAm In case you missed them, check out parts 1-4 on the Wa State crackdown, collapse of the Kokang crime families, evacuations from northern scam compounds, and China-Myanmar law enforcement diplomacy. Part 1: https://lnkd.in/eYxfnheA Part 2: https://lnkd.in/e6RFzd4C Part 3: https://lnkd.in/eAJFCdg8 Part 4: https://lnkd.in/eDCz6Ee9

SE ASIA: Check out this recent interview Cyber Scam Monitor did with Asia Gaming Brief's Nelson Moura reflecting on the growth of illegal online gaming and scams in the Southeast Asia region. https://lnkd.in/evQYaiFb