More than 5,000 Indian nationals have been discovered to be held captive in Cambodia, where they are being coerced into participating in online scams targeting people in India. These scams have accumulated a staggering amount of Rs 500 crore over the last six months. In response to this alarming situation, India and Cambodia are now collaborating to combat this issue.
Media indicate that the Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed these reports, highlighting that the Indian Embassy in Cambodia is actively addressing complaints from Indian citizens who were promised legitimate jobs but ended up being forced into illegal cyber activities. Fortunately, about 250 individuals have been rescued and repatriated back to India.
The victims trapped in Cambodia were reportedly coerced into participating in scams by posing as law enforcement officers. They would contact unsuspecting victims and falsely claim that suspicious items had been found in packages sent by them, demanding money to resolve the fabricated issues.
The discovery of this scam came to light when a senior government employee reported a loss of over Rs 67 lakh. Subsequently, the Rourkela Police in Odisha arrested eight individuals associated with this cyber-crime syndicate.
Stephen, one of the rescued victims, shared his harrowing experience of being lured to Cambodia under false pretenses of a job offer. However, upon arrival, he was coerced into creating fake social media profiles to scam people in India. The victims were subjected to strict daily targets and faced severe consequences if they failed to meet them. Stephen recounted, “An agent in Mangaluru offered me a data entry job in Cambodia. There were three of us, including one Babu Rao from Andhra Pradesh. At the immigration, the agent said we were going on a tourist visa, which made me suspicious.”
These victims, often referred to as “cyber slaves,” endured harsh conditions such as being deprived of food and rest if they did not meet their targets. Some were even forced to pose as women on dating apps to carry out fraudulent schemes, such as cryptocurrency trading scams.
“They tested our typing speed among other things. It was only later that we found out that our job was to look for profiles on Facebook and identify people who can be scammed. The team was Chinese, but a Malaysian translated the instructions to English,” Stephen added.
The Rourkela Police further revealed that the perpetrators resorted to violent tactics, including physical assaults and isolation, to ensure compliance from the victims. Many Indians found themselves trapped against their will in Cambodia, facing exploitation and coercion.
Efforts are now underway to identify and safely repatriate these victims back to India, where they can receive the necessary support and assistance to recover from this traumatic experience. The collaboration between India and Cambodia aims to dismantle this criminal network and prevent further exploitation of vulnerable individuals.
