By Anietie anii-bassey
Cambodia’s government says it is intensifying efforts to dismantle the country’s vast network of online scam operations, with officials aiming to shut down every known center involved in the illicit activity by the end of next month.
Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, who heads the national Commission for Combating Online Scams, said authorities have launched an aggressive campaign targeting hundreds of locations believed to be involved in cyber fraud. Since July, investigators have focused on approximately 250 suspected sites across the country and claim to have already shut down around 200 of them.
The campaign marks one of the most extensive attempts by Cambodian authorities to curb an industry that has grown rapidly in recent years and drawn international scrutiny for its links to organized crime and human trafficking. Officials say the current crackdown is intended not only to dismantle existing operations but also to prevent them from resurfacing.
According to Chhay Sinarith, police will continue enforcement operations beyond April in an effort to ensure the scam networks cannot easily rebuild or relocate.
The Southeast Asian nation has previously announced crackdowns on online fraud compounds, though earlier efforts produced limited long-term impact. Criminal groups often shifted locations or resumed activities shortly after enforcement operations ended.
Experts who track transnational crime say the ultimate success of the latest campaign will depend on whether authorities address the broader networks that enable the scams to operate.
Jacob Sims, a specialist in organized crime and a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, said past crackdowns have often focused on the visible locations where scams take place rather than the deeper financial and protection structures supporting them.
“The real question is whether this effort targets the system that enables the industry, not just the buildings where scams happen,” Sims said. “Past crackdowns in Cambodia have often left the financial and protection networks intact, allowing operations to quickly reconstitute.”
He also noted that there has been little evidence so far that the latest enforcement campaign has reached powerful figures suspected of benefiting from the trade.
“So far there are few signs the current round of enforcement is reaching the key perpetrators among the Cambodian ruling elite,” Sims said, adding that limited access for independent journalists and civil society groups makes it difficult to verify the government’s claims.
Online scam operations have flourished across parts of Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and neighboring Myanmar. Investigators and international organizations estimate that fraud schemes originating from the region defraud victims around the world of tens of billions of dollars each year.
The scams take many forms, including romance fraud, cryptocurrency investment schemes and elaborate online investment platforms that promise large returns before disappearing with victims’ money.
A large portion of the workforce behind these operations consists of foreign nationals who were lured to the region with fraudulent job advertisements promising legitimate employment in technology or customer service. Upon arrival, many are reportedly forced to work in scam compounds under conditions resembling modern-day slavery.
Victims of trafficking are often compelled to spend long hours contacting potential targets online, persuading them to transfer funds into fraudulent investment schemes. Those who resist or fail to meet quotas have reported facing intimidation, violence or restrictions on their freedom.
Cambodian authorities say their latest crackdown has already resulted in dozens of criminal investigations. Chhay Sinarith said law enforcement agencies have opened 79 legal cases involving 697 suspected organizers and accomplices connected to the scam networks.
In addition to arrests, the government has been working with foreign embassies to repatriate thousands of individuals who had been working inside the scam compounds.
Nearly 10,000 people from 23 different countries have been returned to their home nations through official channels during the current campaign, the minister said. Fewer than 1,000 remain in the process of formal repatriation, while others who escaped or were freed during police raids have already managed to return home independently.
Cambodian authorities say they are cooperating closely with international partners, particularly China and the United States, to address the cross-border nature of the cybercrime operations.
Police activity has intensified in recent weeks. On Tuesday, officers raided a suspected scam center located inside a high-rise building in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Around 60 people — including both Cambodian and Chinese nationals — were arrested while sitting at computer stations believed to be used for online fraud.
Investigators say the suspects were engaged in so-called “investment chat scams,” in which victims are persuaded through online messaging to transfer money into fraudulent financial platforms.
“They did chat to convince people in Europe to invest money with them,” said Bun Sosekha, deputy commissioner of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police. “But their investment is fake and fraudulent. It is not real.”
Authorities have also seized equipment and materials used in other operations. During a briefing for journalists, officials displayed confiscated items including uniforms and forged identification cards used by scammers to impersonate Japanese police officers online. The disguises were designed to intimidate victims or create the illusion of official authority during fraudulent communications.
Cambodia’s struggle with cybercrime dates back more than a decade. Early versions of the scams began appearing around 2012, when criminal groups used voice-over-internet-protocol phone systems to place calls to victims overseas while concealing their identities and physical locations.
The industry expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. As tourism collapsed and casinos across the region lost their regular customers, some operators reportedly turned to online fraud as a replacement source of income.
Many of those gambling venues, already operating in regulatory gray areas, transformed into large-scale scam centers employing hundreds of workers at a time.
Since then, the model has spread beyond Southeast Asia, with similar scam operations appearing in parts of Africa and Latin America. Despite increased international attention, law enforcement agencies continue to face major challenges dismantling the networks behind the schemes.
For Cambodia, the stakes are significant. The government has faced mounting pressure from foreign governments, international organizations and human rights groups to demonstrate that it can effectively curb the criminal activity and address the human trafficking associated with it.
Whether the current crackdown will produce lasting results remains uncertain. But officials say the campaign reflects a determination to confront an industry that has tarnished the country’s international reputation and victimized people around the world.
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