China steps up effort against Myanmar scam centres
China is pursuing a crackdown as a regional conference on online scams opens in Cambodia. Human rights groups warn many people working in the centres are trafficked and forced to work.
China is pursuing efforts to crack down on scam centres in neighbouring Myanmar, according to France 24, as an international conference on combating online scams gets underway in Cambodia.
The centres’ workers target people around the world, including in Europe, the UK and China. France 24 reports that hundreds of thousands of people work in fraud centres across Southeast Asia.
US authorities suggest scams attributed to the fraudsters cost US nationals almost $10 billion a year. The source report provides no methodology for that estimate.
Human rights groups warn that many people working in the centres are themselves victims of human trafficking and are forced to work. The warning does not establish the circumstances of every worker.
The report gives no details on the scope or methods of China’s crackdown, or on its results.
