PHNOM PENH, Jan 29 — More than 30 Malaysians alleged to be involved in online scams were rescued and repatriated this month as Cambodia continues to eliminate nefarious operations across the country.
The Malaysian Embassy in Phnom Penh, in cooperation with Cambodia’s Immigration Department, repatriated 29 Malaysians, the embassy announced on its Facebook page today.
Earlier this month, two Malaysians, suspected of being forced into cybercrime, were repatriated after they escaped from scam centres.
All are believed to be victims of fraudulent online recruitment rackets that lured them to work in scam centres in Cambodia.
Cambodian security authorities continue to clamp down on online scams and online illegal gambling operations that have recruited thousands of young jobseekers from Southeast and South Asian countries.
Hundreds of scam centres, operated by international crime gangs, involved in cheating innocent victims abroad, were crippled in the ongoing security operations since last year.
This week, over 2,000 Indonesian nationals, who fell victim to fraudulent job offers, sought the assistance of their embassy in Phnom Penh after escaping scam compounds.
Local media, citing the Immigration Department, has reported that more than 13,000 victims from over 60 countries, suspected of being involved in cyber fraud, were deported last year.
