Global law enforcement targets Southeast Asian cyberscam gangs

U.K. launches first sanctions against suspects involved in online fraud schemes

20231211 Chinese Scammer

Chinese online scam suspects are escorted by Chinese police officers before being deported from Cambodia in 2017. © Reuters

SHAUN TURTON, Contributing writer

PHNOM PENH -- International pressure is intensifying on the cyberscam industry in Southeast Asia, with the United Kingdom sanctioning actors in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, Interpol coordinating a multicountry operation and China issuing arrest warrants for major players.

On Friday, the U.K. announced sanctions that for the first time globally target people and companies tied to scam compounds where victims lured by offers of high-paying jobs are instead forced, under threat of violence and torture, to defraud people online.

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