Suspected Chinese gangs luring job seekers into committing cybercrime: Report

Colombo [Sri Lanka], June 14 : In a worrying nexus of cybercrime, human trafficking and torture, Chinese gangs are running 'factories' for duping thousands of investors worldwide, according to Trueceylon News.

Many job-seekers who went to Thailand for a job in IT were, in fact, recruited by Chinese criminal gangs to enslave them in cybercrime factories. Taking advantage of the sensitive geo-political situation in Myanmar and Cambodia, Chinese criminal gangs are luring several South Asian youths who are actively looking for jobs.

The Chinese gangs manipulate them by misleading ads which promise high salaries for random online jobs, but in the end, forced them to commit cyber-frauds, according to Trueceylon News.

For these gangs, the vulnerable job seekers from South Asian countries are the easy target.

According to the publication, after luring them to Thailand, the gangsters usually push them illegally into other countries in the region with the bordering areas in Myanmar used most widely used for the purpose.

Recently, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the citizens to beware of fraudulent job offers in Thailand in a public advisory, which was issued on April 21, 2023, reported Trueceylon News.

They were also advised to exercise extreme caution and verify the background of recruiting agents before taking up any offer.

The move came after the Sri Lankan Mission in Thailand noticed workers being tricked by dubious firms involved in call-centre scams and cryptocurrency frauds.

Victims are illegally taken across the border from Thailand mostly into Myanmar and held captive to work under restrictive and harsh conditions. Authorities have also apprehended some of the victims for illegal entry into Myanmar.

An examination of such cases revealed that the victims arrive in Thailand on tourist visas as the unknown recruiters usually promise to convert their visas to work visas after arrival, reported Trueceylon News.

Earlier, similar issues were seen in other countries including Malaysia, Philippines, etc. In October 2022, 130 workers from India who were forced to work in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia were rescued by the Indian government.

The Indian embassy in Yangon, Myanmar also issued an advisory on July 5, 2022, cautioning against 'unscrupulous elements offering jobs'. The victims were offered well-paying IT jobs that turned out to be fake, according to Trueceylon News.

While the exact working model of these rackets is yet to emerge fully, it is clear that they bank upon a great degree on regional coordination which is also linked to other nodes of illicit activities.

Placed against the weak law enforcement in the domain of cyber crimes, the groups seem to have accomplished themselves in the South East Asian region.