NEARLY 30 MALAYSIANS RESCUED FROM CAMBODIA-BASED ONLINE SCAM CENTRES RETURN HOME

PHNOM PENH, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- More than 30 Malaysians alleged to be involved in online scam activities were rescued and repatriated this month as Cambodia continues to eliminate nefarious operations across the country.

The Malaysian Embassy in Phnom Penh, in cooperation with Cambodia’s General Department of Immigration, repatriated 29 Malaysian citizens, the embassy announced on its Facebook page today. 

Earlier this month, two Malaysians, suspected of being forced into cybercrime, were repatriated after they escaped from scam centres.   

All are believed to be victims of fraudulent online recruitment rackets that lured them to work in scam centres in Cambodia.

Cambodian security authorities continue to clamp down on online scams and online illegal gambling operations that have recruited thousands of young job seekers from Southeast and South Asian countries.

Hundreds of scam centres, operated by international crime gangs, involved in cheating innocent victims abroad, were crippled in the ongoing security operations since last year.

This week, over 2,000 Indonesian nationals, who fell victim to fraudulent job offers, sought the assistance of their embassy in Phnom Penh after escaping scam compounds. 

Local media, citing the General Department of Immigration, has reported that more than 13, 000 victims from over 60 countries, suspected of being involved in cyber fraud, were deported last year.  

--BERNAMA