Cybercrime and Financial Fraud in Cambodia: A Growing Concern for Indian Victims
Introduction
A recent revelation has highlighted the alarming rise of financial frauds targeting Indians, with nearly half of these cases originating from three South-East Asian countries - Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has taken notice of this trend, attributing it to a “spurt in the organised crime from south-east Asia”.
Financial Crimes on the Rise
In the first four months of 2023 alone, Indians have lost over ₹1,776 crore (approximately $220 million USD) in 89,054 cases of financial crimes such as:
- Digital arrest
- Stock market scam
- Investment scam
- Romance or dating scam
I4C’s Efforts to Combat Fraud
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and state police have taken several measures to combat these frauds, including:
- Blocking 3.25 lakh mule bank accounts
- Suspending 595 apps
- Taking down over 3,000 URLs
- Suspending 5.3 lakh SIM cards
- Suspending 80,848 IMEI numbers
Scam Compounds in Cambodia and Laos
I4C CEO Rajesh Kumar highlighted the presence of “scam compounds” in Cambodia and Laos that resemble call centres. These fraudsters make calls to unsuspecting people in India from Indian mobile phone numbers and dupe them through various methods.
Top Financial Crime Hotspots in India
The top five financial crime hotspots in India are:
- Jharkhand
- Haryana
- Rajasthan
- West Bengal
- Andhra Pradesh
Investment Scams on the Rise
Notably, the maximum number of complaints (62,687) related to investment scams, which lure people mainly through social media. The victim is told to sit at home and earn money, often starting with earning a small amount before losing a large sum.
Chinese Connection?
Kumar also revealed that China has been a victim of such scams, with over 44,000 Chinese individuals being brought back from “scam compounds” in the past two years. Many apps used for these frauds are written in Chinese, leading to suspicions about a possible Chinese connection.
Indian Victims in Cambodia
Recently, many Indians working at a suspected scam compound in Sihanouk city, Cambodia protested against their employers on May 20. Some of them had joined willingly, while others were duped into joining the centre with the fake promise of data entry operator jobs. The Andhra Pradesh police are investigating the case and three recruiting agents have been arrested.
I4C’s Efforts to Track Down Victims
In the past four months, 360 Indians have been brought back from these compounds, and 60 others are in the custody of the Indian Embassy. I4C is seeking the help of the Ministry of External Affairs to trace over 3,000 people who have gone to these countries on tourist visas but have not returned for a long time.
New Law to Combat Organised Crime
The newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) will come into effect from July 1 and will categorize such crimes as “organised crime”. I4C is working with the platform Google to devise a machine-based solution to curb these frauds.