According to a UN report (PDF), criminal gangs are forcing hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia to engage in cybercrime. At least 120,000 people are likely to be affected in Myanmar alone, and 100,000 in Cambodia. In countries like Thailand, Laos and the Philippines there are tens of thousands more victims, reports the UN Human Rights Office. Some would be taken to other countries by smugglers.
The gangs used these people for crypto fraud, betting operations and extortion through love scams. People approach people looking for contact via dating platforms, flatter them and later ask for money, either for allegedly sick relatives or to allegedly build a future together. According to the report, people are forced to play these perfidious games. “They are victims, not criminals,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
The gangs often recruited migrants in need of money and threatened them and their families if they resisted, the report said. Hundreds of thousands of people in these countries have lost their jobs as a result of the corona pandemic, are in despair and are therefore particularly vulnerable to being recruited by these gangs.
Many are well trained, some computer specialists, and often speak foreign languages. Once recruited, many of the victims would be tortured and ill-treated. The criminal gangs made billions in profits.
2023-08-29 22:15:13
#Hundreds #thousands #forced #cybercrime #Asia
