South Korean police have arrested members of a scam group that operated in Cambodia saying it had relocated from the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos amid an intensified crackdown on so-called romance scams and other fraud there.
Laos has beefed up its efforts to crackdown on illegal scam centers amid growing international concern about the proliferation of fraud and pressure to stop it. In August, Lao authorities raided 16 centers in the economic zone in its northwest zone, on the borders with Myanmar and Thailand, after ordering all scam centers there to be “completely shut down.”
Since October last year, members of a Korean scam syndicate allegedly tricked their South Korean acquaintances into buying plane tickets to Laos by promising them short-term high profits, then forced them to engage in romance scams, said Gangwon Provincial Police on Tuesday.
The scams, known as “pig butchering” in China, usually involve making contact with unsuspecting people online, building a personal relationship with them and then defrauding them.
Police found that the gang deceived victims by posting videos on YouTube promoting stock investments with manipulated yields implying people could earn large profits, and stole 11.16 billion South Korean won (US$8 million) from 66 people through investment scams.
The group began its operations in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos but relocated to the Cambodian capital in response to a Lao crackdown, police added.
“In order to eradicate malicious fraud crimes that cleverly exploit the psychology of investors, the police will continue to conduct intensive crackdowns and promote damage prevention activities,” police said.
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Scam centers in Southeast Asia are becoming a global concern, as their operations proliferate, prompting calls for regional governments to take action. According to a March report by researchers from the University of Texas, these scams have defrauded investors of over US$75 billion since January 2020.
Amid the increase in crime, South Korea in January imposed a travel ban, known as a level 4 alert, for the Lao Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone from Feb. 1. As of Wednesday, the ban was still in place.
South Koreans must obtain a special government permit if they wish to stay in areas under a level 4 alert, the highest of a government travel warning system. Those who remain in a country without permission face criminal penalties under the passport law.
In November last year, South Korea announced that 19 citizens had been rescued by Myanmar police after being held by an illegal business in a town in eastern Myanmar on the Thai border.
In August, a South Korean court sentenced the head of an online scam group that operated in Laos and Myanmar to eight years in prison for luring South Koreans with a false promise of “making big money” and forcing them to commit fraud.
Edited by Mike Firn.