Trapped scam victims in Myanmar pin hopes on China’s cybercrime crackdown: ‘I want my freedom back’

Beijing has shown it is ‘serious’ about tackling the scam issue, issuing warrants for Chinese fugitives believed to be at the heart of the multibillion-dollar fraud industry

Desperation mounts among those trapped in scam compounds in north Shan State further from the border area, unsure whether they will ever be rescued

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Southeast Asians trapped in the scam rooms of Myanmar are hoping to be rescued as China cracks down on cyber fraud along its border. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:45pm, 19 Oct 2023

Southeast Asians trapped in the scam rooms of Myanmar fear an ongoing Chinese blitz on cyber fraud companies in the remote northern border area may be their last chance to escape for many months ahead.

There are around 120,000 people working in the scam rooms of Myanmar, according to rough estimates by the United Nations, split between areas run by armed groups in Mywaddy along the western border of Thailand and in Shan State next to China’s Yunnan province.

Pressure has mounted on Beijing to use its leverage over the armed groups along its border – including the powerful United Wa State Party – where major scam compounds operate with impunity, overwhelmingly staffed by Asian workers, many forced into committing online fraud.

China says a crackdown in Myanmar’s northern Shan State has led to thousands of scam suspects returned – including 23 “financial backers” – and major players in the Wa polity listed on arrest warrants, as Beijing loses patience with a criminal enterprise targeting its people.

The cross-border action by Chinese authorities has also spurred hopes of release among those who remain in guarded compounds further from the immediate frontier zone.

“I want my freedom back, and I don’t want to lose this chance,” one Malaysian scam worker in northern Myanmar told This Week in Asia. “We’re hoping the raids are for real, rather than just for show. I’m afraid the Chinese operations might miss this place … I cannot wait to feel freedom again.”

Malaysians are coveted by the scam operators for their education, especially English and Chinese language skills, allowing them to target marks in China, where billions of dollars have been conned from citizens in investment fraud, romance scams and extortion.