Investigative work by Cyber Scam Monitor has revealed significant extensions to well-known scam compounds in Cambodia. They compared satellite images for 11 scam compounds between December 2023 and October 2024. For example:
In Pursat, one of Cambodia’s most notorious remote online hubs, MDS Henghe Thmorda SEZ, has seen extensive clearance and as many as 20 new buildings built or under construction this year. Reports of trafficking and detention within the zone have been recorded at least as far back as 2021.
There are also examples of entirely new compounds being established.
Outside the city limits of Poipet, another development has emerged in the former rice fields in O Bei Choan, where roughly 100 hectares of land have been cleared and buildings are rapidly popping up. Discussion in online scam industry message groups indicate that operators are relocating here from other parts of the country and Myanmar. A source told Cyber Scam Monitor that hundreds of foreign nationals have moved to the area.
We can see the locations of scam compounds from outer space. We know about the scams that are run from these compounds because of the testimony of escapees who were forced to work in them. So why does the comms industry and its overseers pretend that we first need to create a global infrastructure to trace calls before we will be able to tackle them?
A lot of fuss is being made about creating mechanisms to trace voice calls across international borders and share other intelligence about communications in order to defend national security and counter organized crime. For example, the UK Parliament is set to give US law enforcement agencies the right to demand data from UK comms providers in the new Data Use and Access Bill. Passing this into law will fulfill a promise made to the USA by Priti Patel when she was the UK’s Home Secretary. In other words, this is a development that was supported by the old Conservative government and is supported by the new Labour government. But who exactly is going to be protected by such powers, and what will they be protected from? If somebody in the UK tried to clear 100 hectares of land — more than the area of 200 football fields — to construct buildings with extensive communications links then the local council would deny them planning permission long before the cops might ask about the work being done inside. Meanwhile, the US government refuses to impose sanctions against the Cambodians who are profiting from the scam industry.
Corruption in Cambodia is enabling the proliferation of international scams. The profits generated by criminals mean the authorities will turn a blind eye to the trafficking of many foreign nationals who work in scam compounds. They also oppress Cambodians who oppose these crimes, as demonstrated by the harsh treatment of Mech Dara, an award-winning journalist. Dara has established a reputation as a fearless investigator of scam compounds in Cambodia but he was arrested on September 30 and charged with “incitement to disturb social security”, a crime which carries a maximum sentence of two years. NGOs immediately called for Dara’s release, arguing that the arrest was a clear attempt to silence his work. Dara was finally allowed out on bail on October 26, but only after he recorded a groveling public apology. It may not have been a coincidence that Dara was released just a few days after the head of the US Agency for International Development visited Cambodia. Whilst this important diplomatic visit may have influenced the treatment of Dara, some American taxpayers may feel unease that their money is being given voluntarily to a government that also allows stealing from ordinary people in the USA and other countries.
There is a fundamental disconnection between the words and actions of Western governments. Cooperation between countries that are on the receiving end of transnational crime is irrelevant if there is no cooperation with the countries that originate transnational crime. Satellites belonging to rich countries can literally see the expansion of the buildings where scams originate. This makes me suspicious that much of the talk about international cooperation is motivated by political appearances rather than a genuine intention to stop the crimes that affect ordinary citizens.
Cyber Scam Monitor’s photographic evidence of growing compounds in Cambodia can be seen here.
