26 January 2025 , 14:08
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Myanmar claims it has deported over 50,000 Chinese scammers tied to scam factories since October 2023.
As reported by the South China Morning Post in a January 21st paywalled article;
Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Tuesday it had deported to China more than 50,000 people suspected of involvement in online scam operations since October 2023, as it made a rare call to neighbouring countries to intervene.
The announcement follows increased scrutiny following rescue of a Chinese actor earlier this month.
The SCMP also reports that state-run Myanmar media has acknowledged scam factories “publicly for the first time”.
The article added those responsible were not Myanmar nationals or ordinary foreign civilians, but “fugitive offenders” who illegally entered Myanmar from neighbouring countries.
The junta called on its neighbours to “participate in combating online scams and online gambling”.
Thai and Chinese authorities have not responded for comment.
The Chinese and Myanmar ruling junta could of course put a stop to the compounds overnight, but thus far choose not to do so. Instead, Thailand appears to have been drafted.
Myanmar’s junta and Thai military officials have agreed to “jointly eradicate online gambling and online scams”, according to Myanmar state media.
In relation to the Chinese actor case, twelve scammers are reported to have been arrested on or around Friday January 17th. This ties into Thailand reassuring Chinese tourists they wouldn’t be kidnapped and shipped off of Myanmar.
A Chinese beautician in Hong Kong has also been arrested for conspiring to lure two people to Southeast Asia to conduct scams by offering them free flights to Thailand and promising a lucrative reward for transporting cash.
Over in Cambodia, a Malaysian victims was freed after scammers realized he lacked computer skills and English proficiency.
Xiao Fei said he had been duped by a “friend” into travelling to Cambodia in November, lured by a job as a private driver with a promised salary of up to US$5,000. However, upon arrival, he was taken into a scam compound and was later deemed unfit to work.
The victim suggested that his kidnappers might have seen reports about his disappearance, which led them to scold him before returning his passport and releasing him.
BehindMLM tracks “click a button” app Ponzis, just one type of fraud coming out of the Chinese-run scam factories.
Despite the arrests over the past year however, I haven’t really noticed a reduction in launches. And I suspect nothing much will happen till Chinese authorities target heads of the organized crime syndicates in charge.