Thai Nationals Enslaved and Forced to Work in Scam Call Centers

Workers are drawn to Cambodia through social media advertisements promising high-paying jobs. As soon as they arrive in the country, their travel documents are seized and they are held and forced by racketeers to make scam calls in their own languages. Those who refuse are subject to various forms of abuse and mistreatment. They are assaulted, whipped, and electrocuted. Some get beaten up and others get locked in dark rooms without food. In mid-March, 35 civil society groups urged the Cambodian government to address “a crisis of forced labor, slavery, and torture” in facilities that it described as “slave compounds.” Since October, more than 800 Thai men and women have been rescued from scam call centers in Cambodia. It's estimated that more than 1,000 Thais are still working in scam call centers in cities like Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Poipet. There is mounting evidence that these are regionally coordinated, and linked to other illicit activity, such as the massive drug trafficking syndicates that operate in eastern Myanmar. If the criminals continue to outpace regional law enforcement capacities, it is likely that we will see many more such stories in the months to come.