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Cambodia’s Financial Fraud Hotspots Emerge as Major Concern for Indian Victims
A shocking revelation has emerged, indicating that nearly half of financial frauds targeting Indians have originated from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, with many web applications used to commit these crimes written in Chinese.
Financial Frauds Targeting Indians
According to Rajesh Kumar, CEO of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), over ₹1,776 crore has been lost by Indians in 89,054 cases of financial crimes such as digital arrest, stock market scam, investment scam, and romance or dating scam in the first four months of this year.
Organized Crime from South-East Asia
The I4C chief disclosed that a significant spike in organized crime from south-east Asia has been observed, with complaints received on national cybercrime portal cybercrime.gov.in and 1930 helpline. While not all cases have been converted into First Information Reports (FIR), efforts by the I4C and state police have led to the blocking of over 3.25 lakh mule bank accounts, 595 apps, and more than 3,000 URLs in the past four months.
Financial Crime Hotspots in India
Kumar revealed that financial crime hotspots remain active in India, particularly in Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, and West Bengal. Around 1,000 people have been arrested since December 2023. The government has identified “scam compounds” in these countries which resemble call centers, where fraudsters dupe unsuspecting individuals from Indian mobile phone numbers.
Investment Scams and Romance or Dating Scams
The majority of financial scams originating from south-east Asia are related to investment scams, with over 62,687 complaints received. These scams typically involve luring people through social media, promising them easy money. In 2023 alone, more than 1 lakh complaints were registered, resulting in 10,000 FIRs being filed.
Chinese Connection
Kumar also revealed that China has been a victim of these scams, with 44,000 Chinese individuals brought back from “scam compounds” in the past two years. The use of apps written in Chinese language has raised suspicions of a Chinese connection.
Recent Incident in Cambodia
In a recent incident, Indians working at a suspected scam compound in Sihanouk city, Cambodia protested against their employers on May 20. Many of them had been duped into joining these centers with fake promises of data entry operator jobs. The Andhra Pradesh police are investigating the case, and three recruiting agents have been arrested.
Collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs
The I4C is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to trace over 3,000 Indians who went missing after traveling to these countries on tourist visas. The newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) will categorize such crimes as organized crime from July 1.
Collaboration with Google
Kumar emphasized that the I4C is collaborating with Google to devise a machine-based solution to tackle frauds and tracing mule bank accounts, which are being used to deposit money cheated by fraudsters. A high-level inter-ministerial committee has been constituted to mitigate cybercrime originating from south-east Asia targeting India.