Slavery, torture, human trafficking discovered at 53 Cambodian online scamming compounds

An Amnesty International investigation uncovered 53 scamming compounds in Cambodia where people, including children and human trafficking victims, were forced to work and tortured or threatened with violence if they didn’t comply.

Those forced into criminal activity in the compounds by gangs carried out “pig butchering” schemes and other online scams, such as using fraudulent websites to steal information or sell products that weren’t delivered, the Amnesty report released Thursday that drew on interviews with hundreds of ex-workers revealed.

The Cambodian government is complicit, Amnesty argued.

“The Cambodian authorities know what is going on inside scamming compounds, yet they allow it to continue,” said Montse Ferrer, regional research director for Amnesty International. “Our findings reveal a pattern of state failures that have allowed criminality to flourish and raises questions about the government’s motivations.”

The report adds understanding to the extent of scam compounds most often found in Southeast Asia. Pig butchering scams, which involve building up trust with victims before luring them into handing over money on false pretenses, have cost U.S. victims billions of dollars in losses in recent years.

In response to the report’s findings, the Cambodian government told Amnesty that it has “taken drastic measures to strengthen national process[es] to counter the online scams, online gambling and human trafficking with significant results,” including crackdowns on 28 locations.

But Amnesty said it found that even when police or the military intervened, human rights abuses continued at the locations, nor did the government adequately investigate other locations or take effective steps to combat human trafficking. A spokesman for the Cambodian government told media outlets that the report’s conclusions were “exaggerated” and that Cambodia was a victim itself in need of help rather than blame.

In addition to the 53 confirmed compounds, Amnesty identified 43 more suspected compounds. 

“Cambodia’s authorities must ensure no more jobseekers are trafficked into the country to face torture, slavery or any other human rights abuse,” Ferrer said. “They must urgently investigate and shut down all scamming compounds and properly identify, assist and protect victims. Slavery thrives when governments look away.”