CAMBODIA’S much-publicised campaign against online scam syndicates has failed to dismantle large sections of the industry, according to a new report by Amnesty International, raising questions over official claims that authorities have significantly weakened one of South-East Asia’s most notorious cyberfraud networks.
Bloomberg reported that the London-based human rights organisation said it identified 86 scam compounds operating across Cambodia as of April, a sharp increase from 53 documented a year earlier, despite an extensive government crackdown launched in July last year.
According to the report, evidence of state intervention was found at only 24 locations, a finding that contrasts sharply with official assertions that more than 250 scam centres had been targeted nationwide.
The findings challenge repeated government claims that the industry has been substantially curtailed.
Earlier this year, Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith said online scam activity had been reduced by half and would be effectively resolved by April. Authorities have since reported thousands of arrests, prosecutions and deportations linked to anti-scam operations.
However, Amnesty concluded that the campaign has fallen short of its objectives.
“Cambodia’s crackdown has failed in key areas, both in investigating and shuttering some of the most well-known compounds across the country and in protecting and assisting the victims who escaped,” Amnesty said in its report released on June 8.
The cyberfraud industry has transformed parts of Cambodia into major centres for online scams generating billions of dollars annually, targeting victims across the globe through sophisticated investment fraud, romance scams and other digital schemes.
Alongside Myanmar and Laos, Cambodia has become a regional hub for scam compounds where trafficked workers are frequently forced to participate in fraudulent operations under coercive conditions.
Experts monitoring the industry argue that many enforcement actions have failed to dismantle the criminal networks behind the compounds.
“We’re still understanding most of their crackdowns as being quite performative, where they’re perhaps alerting the key people within the scam centres before a raid, so they’re not actually taking down the key actors,” said Julia Dickson.
“We have seen a lot of movement within Cambodia, perhaps shifting more from these big compounds in border zones to smaller compounds that are harder to track within urban areas or simply relocating elsewhere.”
The report also highlighted concerns over the treatment of trafficking survivors. While acknowledging that thousands of people appear to have escaped or been released during the crackdown, Amnesty said many were subsequently classified as immigration offenders rather than recognised as victims of human trafficking.
As a result, survivors often depended on charities, local communities and foreign embassies for food, accommodation and assistance to leave the country.
Prime Minister Hun Manet launched the nationwide campaign last July, describing scam syndicates as a serious threat to Cambodia’s legitimate economy and international reputation.
Although Amnesty acknowledged that the operation had achieved some successes, it concluded that weak investigations, systemic shortcomings and inadequate victim protection mechanisms had enabled much of the industry to remain intact.
Analysts have also warned that some former victims are being trafficked again after escaping or being released from scam compounds.
“There are also signs that some people who escaped the compounds or were released are being re-trafficked inside Cambodia,” Dickson said.
“You’ve seen people flood the streets in Cambodia as the raids are happening, all these people don’t have anywhere to go, don’t have any way to get back, so they end up, some willingly, often not willingly in another compound.”
Further evidence suggests the scam industry may be evolving rather than disappearing. According to Stephanie Baroud, operators appear to be fragmenting their activities into smaller, less visible facilities, including residential properties.
“Has the crackdown led to an end? It does not appear so,” she said. “The scam centers are still around. They’re popping up in other places.”
“Shutting down a scam centre does not necessarily entail a dismantling of the infrastructure that is behind it,” she added.
“The risk of revictimisation and being trafficked again is there, especially in the context of crackdowns like this.”
The report underscores the growing challenge facing governments across South-East Asia as criminal syndicates adapt to enforcement efforts, shifting operations across borders and into smaller, harder-to-detect networks while continuing to exploit vulnerable workers and target victims worldwide. - June 8, 2026
