Raids on Myanmar scam hubs trigger recruitment rush for other centres

Recent raids on one of Myanmar’s most notorious internet scam hubs sparked a recruitment rush as fleeing workers scrambled to enlist at nearby fraud factories, experts and insiders told AFP.

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The KK Park fraud factory in Myanmar's Myawaddy township seen from Mae Sot district in Thailand's border province of Tak on Sept 17. Raids in late October sent over 1,500 people fleeing over the border to Thailand - but many stayed behind to pursue new opportunities in the black market. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP)

Online scam hubs have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, draining unsuspecting victims of billions of dollars annually in elaborate romance and crypto cons.

Many workers are trafficked into the internet sweatshops, analysts say, but others go willingly to secure attractive salaries.

Raids in late October roiled Myanmar fraud factory KK Park, sending more than 1,500 people fleeing over the border to Thailand — but many stayed behind to pursue new opportunities in the black market.

A Chinese voluntary scam worker told AFP that a few hundred people who left KK Park arrived at his own compound 3km away on Oct 23 — lured by monthly salaries of up to US$1,400 (S$1,822).

The man spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, but shared with AFP a live location on a messaging app showing he was in Myanmar, near the Thai border.