Scam centers in southeast Asia are on the rise despite crackdowns to root out the illegal industry

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BANGKOK (AP) — It often starts with a text message asking if you are available on weekends, looking for a part-time job or you get a simple “hello” from an unknown number. Halfway across the world, a laborer is usually pulling in 12-16 hour days, sending non-stop messages, hoping someone will take the bait.

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The ultimate goal is always to take your money — victims have lost tens of billions to scams and hundreds of thousands of people are in forced labor to keep the schemes going. These workers are often housed in massive complexes scattered across southeast Asia, where the industry has flourished.

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Here is why rooting out the scamming industry is such a complex issue:

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The crackdown in Myanmar

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The Myanmar military last month went into one of the most well-known scam compounds — the massive KK Park, along the border with Thailand — and announced its shutdown, though civil society groups later said parts of the compound are still operating.

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The workers fled, with about 1,500 laborers — hundreds of them from India but also Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Ethiopians and Kenyans, among other nationalities — crossing into Thailand. Troops then demolished several structures within the massive complex, according to Thai military officials.

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Thailand is now working with India and other foreign governments to repatriate their citizens. On Thursday, one of the largest groups of workers was flown home aboard Indian air force transport planes and more are to return next week.

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However, KK Park was just one of dozens such centers along the Thai-Myanmar border and hundreds across Southeast Asia.

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Emerging from casinos and illegal gambling

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Scam compounds are often located in rural areas, sprawling complexes with sleeping quarters, shops and entertainment venues for the staff.

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They are constructed on a model where developers may build out a single property and then lease out the space inside to various companies.

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They often operate with the protection of local elites. Smaller operations also exist — housed in one floor of legitimate office buildings, or even a rented house in an urban area.

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The centers originated from casinos — both online and physical casinos that mushroomed across Southeast Asia. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime counted more than 340 licensed and non-licensed casinos in 2021 alone.

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The casinos and attached junket tours attracted high-rollers from China, where gambling is outlawed and are operated by Chinese criminal groups.

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During the pandemic, visiting such locations became difficult amid strict travel restrictions. Lacking customers, some online casinos shifted their work model to a criminal operation: defrauding targets from all over the world through digital schemes.

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Relying on both trafficked and willing labor

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It’s estimated that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar may be held in situations where they are forced to work on online scams, with another 100,000 people in Cambodia, according to a 2023 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right report.