440 Indonesians freed from Cambodia’s cyberscam networks in criminal crackdown

Cyberscam networks in Cambodia have freed more than 400 Indonesians this month, Jakarta said on Monday, after Phnom Penh announced a fresh crackdown on the illicit industry.Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia, some willingly and others trafficked, lure internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments, netting tens of billions of dollars each year.Some foreign nationals have left suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month as the government pledged to “eliminate” problems related to the online fraud trade, which the United Nations says employs at least 100,000 people in Cambodia alone.Recent Cambodian law enforcement measures resulted in “many online scam syndicates – letting their workers go”, Indonesia’s ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, said in a video posted to social media.Between January 1 and 18, 440 Indonesians came to the embassy in Phnom Penh after they had been “released by online scam syndicates”, many seeking to return home, according to a post on Instagram.“Because Cambodia’s crackdown will continue, the embassy predicts many more will flow in from the provinces,” Santo said.