Rising Labor Scams in Southeast Asia
Officers question individuals deported from Cambodia following raids on call-center scam operations
“Hello, and good day. I’m sorry if I did anything to interrupt, do you have a few minutes? Can I share some information regarding a job offer with you?”
These are but some of the common ways scammers operate. Protected by the anonymity of the internet, there has been a significant rise in individuals falling for these scams all across Asia. They target unsuspecting victims with lucrative job offers, some of which promise upwards of SGD $300 (USD $210) per day. Unfortunately, as economic inequality grows, people will inevitably fall for such scams out of desperation. And with desperation, comes blindness; job scammers often prey on this vulnerability. Coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the unemployment of over 81 million people, the rise of labor scams in Asia seems unavoidable.
Furthermore, many individuals report being “trapped” after entering into these scams. For instance, scam victims have reportedly been victims of human trafficking. After accepting these “offers,” they are forced to fly overseas to countries with less regulation, such as Myanmar, Cambodia, or Vietnam. On arrival, they are immediately taken captive, and forced to “work,” often becoming scammers themselves and conducting cyber fraud. Some accounts further report that they are only released after they earn a certain amount of money for their scammers.
To combat this, governments around Asia have been engaging in preventive and remedial work. One key effort has been to educate individuals on how they can better recognize these scams. Similarly, legislative reforms seem to be in the works, such as in Singapore, to combat these labor scams. On the remedial front, governments have been particularly active in rescuing individuals from scams.
While perhaps unfortunate, there is a silver lining from an international relations outlook. These scams often operate transnationally; victims are sent plane tickets to travel from their home country to a country where they are forced to work. Therefore, when home countries plan rescue operations, they are often required to request permission from host countries. Deployment of forces and interference of affairs would be regarded as unlawful intervention, and a breach of sovereignty. However, mutual cooperation agreements could also be used to showcase bilateral cross-border cooperation between nations. In that regard, such transboundary rescue operations would have significant opportunities for countries to develop stronger ties with each other. Further, it cooperative efforts could even lead to new agreements; Thailand’s ASEAN Border Management Cooperation Roadmap serves as an example, creating mutual capacity building to prevent further human trafficking activities.