Thousands of people trafficked into Southeast Asia’s sprawling cyber-fraud industry are facing a new crisis after escaping the compounds where they were forced to conduct online scams.
Crackdowns across Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand have freed workers from compounds operated by organised criminal networks accused of defrauding victims worldwide. But months after the raids, many survivors remain stranded in Cambodia without passports, money, valid visas or a clear route home. Aid groups say some survivors are sleeping on the streets of Phnom Penh, while others have been placed in overcrowded immigration detention centres. One former scam compound, Mango 2, has reportedly been converted into a detention facility. Survivors can also face thousands of dollars in visa-overstay fines accumulated while they were held captive, making departure impossible for those unable to pay.
Human-trafficking organisations warn that authorities are frequently treating people rescued from scam operations as potential criminals rather than victims of forced labour. Amnesty International reported in June that none of the 73 survivors it interviewed had been formally recognised as trafficking victims, despite its assessment that all met the relevant definition.
Without official recognition, survivors may be denied access to shelter, legal assistance and repatriation programmes. Aid workers say the lack of support is creating further risks, including sexual abuse and renewed exploitation.
The criminal networks themselves are also rebuilding. Anti-trafficking groups have documented new compounds in Myanmar and say former workers stranded in Cambodia are being targeted for recruitment. Some survivors are reportedly accepting offers to return to scam centres because they have no money or other means of leaving the country. The crisis has exposed a wider gap between international efforts to dismantle scam compounds and governments’ willingness to repatriate the people rescued from them. For many survivors, escaping forced labour has therefore become only the first step in a struggle for genuine freedom.