KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Cambodia has arrested and extradited a powerful tycoon accused of running a vast online fraud network, marking a rare blow to an industry that has stolen tens of billions of dollars around the world. U.S. and British authorities say Chen Zhi led a transnational criminal enterprise that exploited trafficked workers and defrauded victims around the world.
For victims, scams often start small: a text message offering a part-time job, asking about weekend availability or just saying “hello.” On the other end are workers, often halfway around the world, forced to work 12 to 16 hours a day, sending messages until someone responds.
The human toll was huge. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be trapped in forced labor, housed in sprawling compounds across Southeast Asia, and forced to commit fraud with the sole purpose of scamming you out of your money.
Even with high-profile arrests, disrupting the industry remains incredibly difficult. Here’s why:
repression in Myanmar
Last October, Myanmar’s military moved into one of its most famous scams – the vast KK Park on the border with Thailand – and announced it was halting operations. However, work continues uninterrupted at other fraud centers in Myanmar, with trafficked persons from around the world still waiting to be rescued.
The raid triggered a mass exodus of workers. About 1,500 workers crossed into Thailand, including hundreds from India as well as citizens from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia and Kenya. Thai military officials said troops later demolished several buildings within the large complex.
KK Park is just one of dozens of such centers along the Thailand-Myanmar border, with hundreds more scattered across Southeast Asia, underscoring how difficult it is to dismantle an industry that can quickly shift business when under pressure.
Get rid of casinos and illegal gambling
Scams are usually large complexes in rural areas, complete with worker dormitories, shops and entertainment venues. Developers will typically build a property and lease the space inside to multiple companies, allowing numerous businesses to run in parallel.
Many companies operate under the protection of local elites. Smaller setups also exist, tucked away on the single floors of legitimate office buildings or even rental homes in urban neighborhoods.
The roots of these centers can be traced to the proliferation of casinos (both land-based and online) across Southeast Asia over the past decade. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there were more than 340 licensed and unlicensed casinos in the region in 2021 alone.
These casinos are often integrated with junket tours and cater to high rollers from China, where gambling is illegal and are often run by Chinese criminal syndicates.
When the COVID-19 pandemic and strict travel restrictions caused a loss of customers, some online casinos pivoted. As revenue dried up, operators turned to a new model: using the same infrastructure and workforce to defraud targets around the world through digital scams.
Reliance on trafficked and voluntary labor
According to a 2023 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, an estimated 120,000 people are forced to engage in online fraud in Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia.
The numbers are rough estimates, but investigators say scam centers relied on trafficked victims and workers who came willingly — lured by false promises of relatively high pay and cushy office jobs.
In the early days, most workers came from China and Chinese-speaking countries. Today, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says workers are recruited from at least 56 countries, from Indonesia to Liberia.
For many, the reality is far harsher than advertised. Workers say their passports are often confiscated to prevent them from leaving the factory. Only senior managers and trusted lieutenants were allowed to move freely. Those who fail to achieve their goals may be beaten or otherwise physically punished.
global scourge
Scammers cast a wide net, targeting victims around the world, and are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence-powered translation tools to overcome language barriers.
In the Philippines, authorities raided a compound in March 2024 where staff were running a bogus investment scheme targeting Chinese nationals. Scammers used script messages to impersonate senior employees at state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation to convince victims to invest in crude oil futures, according to a script seen by The Associated Press.
Elsewhere, the impact was equally profound. Last year, about 50 South Koreans were deported from Cambodia months after being arrested on suspicion of online fraud.
U.S. prosecutors also targeted the networks behind the schemes. Prosecutors said in an indictment against Chen last year that his organization defrauded at least 250 Americans of millions of dollars, including one victim who lost $400,000 in cryptocurrency. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Americans lost at least $10 billion to scams related to Southeast Asia in 2024 alone.
Cambodian authorities said on Wednesday that Chen Zhi and two other Chinese nationals had been extradited to China on Tuesday. According to reports, Chen holds dual nationality and his Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December last year.
victim
These scams come in many forms, from cryptocurrency investment schemes to so-called “mission scams” where victims are asked to pay to unlock the next mission. In some cases, small amounts of real money are paid upfront to build trust before losses become larger.
Scammers often create a sense of urgency, warning targets that unless they invest within a specific period, they will miss out.
While government crackdowns and raids have freed some workers and closed individual compounds, activists say those behind the actions have been largely untouched. New scam hubs are popping up all the time in Southeast Asia and beyond.
A United Nations report last year said scammers used fake romantic relationships, false investment promotions and illegal gambling schemes to swindle billions of dollars from victims, with the scams reportedly operating as far away as Africa and Latin America.
“If we only rescue victims and don’t arrest anyone — especially the Chinese mafia and transnational crime syndicates — then it doesn’t make any sense,” said Jay Kritiya, coordinator of the Civil Society Network for Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking.
“They can attract more victims. They can commit fraud at any time,” Critia said.
