Cambodia’s arrest and extradition of a powerful tycoon accused of running a vast online scam network marks a rare strike against an industry that has stolen tens of billions of dollars worldwide. U.S. and U.K. authorities say Chen Zhi led a transnational criminal enterprise that exploited trafficked workers and defrauded victims globally.
Online Scam Networks and Their Rise
The scams often begin with simple contact: a text message offering a part-time job, an inquiry about weekend availability, or even a casual “hello.” Behind these messages are often laborers working 12- to 16-hour days, sending messages in hopes of finding a responsive victim.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be trapped in forced labor, housed in sprawling compounds across Southeast Asia and compelled to run scams designed to steal money.
Even with high-profile arrests like Chen Zhi’s, dismantling the industry remains extraordinarily difficult.
Challenges to Dismantling Scam Operations
In October, the Myanmar military moved into KK Park, a well-known scam compound along the border with Thailand, announcing its closure. However, work continued uninterrupted at other scam centers in Myanmar, where trafficked individuals remain awaiting rescue.
The raid on KK Park prompted approximately 1,500 laborers to cross into Thailand, including hundreds from India, as well as citizens from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Thai military officials subsequently demolished several structures within the complex.
KK Park was just one of dozens of similar centers along the Thai-Myanmar border, and one of hundreds scattered across Southeast Asia, highlighting the difficulty of dismantling an industry that can quickly relocate when threatened.
Scam compounds are often sprawling complexes in rural areas, containing sleeping quarters, shops, and entertainment venues for workers. Developers typically lease space within a single property to multiple companies, allowing numerous operations to run concurrently.
Many of these operations operate with the protection of local elites. Smaller setups also exist, hidden within legitimate office buildings or rented houses in urban areas.
Origins in Casinos
These scam centers trace their roots to casinos—both physical and online—that proliferated across Southeast Asia over the past decade. In 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime counted more than 340 licensed and unlicensed casinos in the region.
These casinos catered to high-rollers from China, where gambling is illegal, and were frequently run by Chinese criminal groups, often utilizing junket tours.
When the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions reduced customer numbers, some online casinos adapted. Facing declining revenue, operators shifted to defrauding targets worldwide through digital scams, utilizing the same infrastructure and labor.
Scale of the Problem
A 2023 report by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that 120,000 people in Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia are being forced to work in online scam operations.
Investigators say these centers rely on a combination of trafficked victims and workers lured by false promises of relatively high pay and easy office jobs. While early recruits came primarily from China and Chinese-speaking countries, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime now reports laborers are recruited from at least 56 countries, including Indonesia and Liberia.
Workers report having their passports confiscated to prevent them from leaving the compounds. Only senior managers and trusted lieutenants are allowed to move freely, and those who fail to meet targets risk physical punishment.
Evolving Tactics
Scammers cast a wide net, targeting victims globally and increasingly using artificial intelligence-powered translation tools to overcome language barriers.
In the Philippines, authorities raided a compound in March 2024 where workers were targeting Chinese nationals with a fake investment scheme. Scammers posed as employees of the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., persuading victims to invest in crude oil futures using scripted messages.
Last year, approximately 50 South Koreans were repatriated from Cambodia after being arrested for allegedly working in online scam operations.
U.S. prosecutors have also targeted the networks behind these schemes. An indictment against Chen Zhi last year alleged his organization defrauded at least 250 Americans out of millions of dollars, including one victim who lost $400,000 in cryptocurrency. The U.S. Treasury Department estimates Americans lost at least $10 billion to scams linked to Southeast Asia in 2024 alone.
Cambodian authorities stated Wednesday that Chen Zhi and two other Chinese citizens were extradited to China on Tuesday. Chen’s Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December, as he holds dual nationality.
The scams take various forms, including cryptocurrency investment schemes and “task scams,” where victims are asked to pay to unlock the next assignment. Scammers often provide small initial payouts to build trust before escalating losses.
They frequently create a sense of urgency, warning targets they will miss out on opportunities if they don’t invest by a specific deadline.
Despite government crackdowns and raids that have freed some workers and shut down individual compounds, activists say those behind the operations largely remain untouched, with new scam centers continuing to emerge across Southeast Asia and beyond.
A United Nations report last year indicated scammers have extracted billions of dollars from victims through fake romantic relationships, bogus investment pitches, and illegal gambling schemes, with operations reported as far away as Africa and Latin America.
“If we only rescue the victims and don’t arrest anybody — especially the Chinese mafia and transnational syndicates — then there will be no point,” said Jay Kritiya, coordinator of the Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking.
“They can get more victims. They can scam anytime,” Kritiya said.
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