Financial Crime Trends in Cambodia: A Growing Concern for India
An Unprecedented Surge in Financial Frauds
India is facing an alarming surge in financial frauds, with nearly half of the cases originating from three South-East Asian countries - Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. According to Rajesh Kumar, CEO of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a staggering amount of ₹1,776 crore has been lost by Indians in 89,054 cases of financial crimes in just four months this year.
Types of Frauds
The majority of these frauds involve:
- Digital arrest
- Stock market scams
- Investment scams
- Romance or dating scams
What’s alarming is that many web applications used to commit these frauds are written in Chinese, raising suspicions about a possible Chinese connection.
Efforts to Combat Financial Crime
In the first four months of the year, I4C and State police have:
- Blocked 3.25 lakh mule bank accounts
- Suspended 595 apps
- Taken down over 3,000 URLs
- Suspended 5.3 lakh SIM cards
- Identified 80,848 IMEI numbers
- Taken down 3,401 WhatsApp groups
Arrests and Investigations
Around 1,000 people have been arrested since December 2023, and the government has identified “scam compounds” in these countries that resemble call centers.
Fraudsters from these countries make calls to unsuspecting Indians using Indian mobile phone numbers and dupe them out of their money through various methods. Investment scams, which often start with promises of earning money online, have been particularly popular, with over 62,000 complaints received in 2023 alone.
The Chinese Connection
The Chinese connection is not ruled out, as many apps used for fraud are written in Chinese. In fact, China itself has fallen victim to such scams, with over 44,000 Chinese people being brought back from “scam compounds” in the past two years.
Recent Incident in Cambodia
A recent incident in Cambodia’s Sihanouk city saw Indians working at a suspected scam compound protest against their employers, demanding their passports back. The Andhra Pradesh police are investigating the case, and three recruiting agents have been arrested.
International Collaboration
I4C is seeking the help of the Ministry of External Affairs to trace over 60 Indians who have gone missing while on tourist visas in Thailand. Most of these victims are between the ages of 21-30.
New Law and Inter-Ministerial Committee
The newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) will come into effect from July 1, categorizing such crimes as “organised crime.” The government has also constituted a high-level inter-ministerial committee to mitigate cybercrime originating from South-East Asia targeting India.