Internet scam attempts have reached all users at some point by email, on social networks or even through SMS. It is a profitable business. But while the economic and human cost paid by the victims of cyber fraud is clear, less known is the cost of those who are forced to perpetrate it. Behind every scam attempt there is usually a real person: according to a 2023 UN report, between Cambodia and Myanmar alone there could be 220,000 people forced to be in front of a screen trying to attract fraud victims. Many of them come from other Asian countries, have knowledge of English and Chinese, and are lured into these scam macro farms with false promises of lucrative jobs. Those who have managed to escape from this hell report that they live there under conditions of slavery, with physical attacks that include punishments such as electric shocks. Continue reading
