Scam centers in Myanmar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Myanmar, specifically near Chinese and Thai border Major scam center buildings in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar. | |
| Founded | c. 1990s |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1990s/2000s–present[1][2] |
| Territory | Myanmar, specifically near Chinese and Thai border |
| Activities | Organized crime, including cybercrime, online fraud, human trafficking, child labour, forced labor |
| Allies | Other scam centers in Southeast Asia |
Scam centers are large compounds of fraud and criminal activities which are often disguised as business parks or towns around the country. In Myanmar, they are usually located in border towns near Thailand, especially around Myawaddy-Mae Sot and Shwe Kokko.[3][4][5]
According to the 2023 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report, an estimated 120,000 people across Myanmar were held in situations where they are forced to work on online scams.[6][7] The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that these activities bring in nearly US$40 billion a year for criminal gangs.[8]
According to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the origins of the scam operations in the Myanmar region date back to loosely regulated casinos and online gambling ventures in the 1990s. These early gambling hubs along the borders became infrastructure for later fraud operations. The operations gathered pace in the 2000s as internet connectivity improved and criminal networks began shifting from gambling profits to online fraud schemes.[1]
Around 2017, the most notable scam center in Shwe Kokko was registered by the Hong Kong-based Yatai International Holdings Group and local armed group partners.[2] The centers shifted from gambling to intensive scam hubs especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The site began to be repurposed for online scamming, money-laundering, crypto fraud and related activities.[9][10]
Following the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the country's civil war created fertile conditions for organized crime, leading to the scam centers becoming hubs for cyber scam and fraud operations.[4][11] Due to the civil war, local armed groups, militias and border forces sometimes reportedly tolerated scam operations in exchange for revenue or local control.[12]
Recruitment
The scam centers lure basic job-seekers with fake offers of high-paying, legitimate work in digital marketing, IT, customer support or cryptocurrency trading. For such recruitments advertisements are usually posted on social media platforms, job sites or messaging apps.[13][14] This led to many victims come from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and beyond. They are then taken to scam compounds and pressured to work in fraud operations.[15] Once accepted, victims are often transported to border cities like Mae Sot (Thailand) and from there smuggled or guided into Myanmar scam compounds such as in Myawaddy, Shwe Kokko or others.[16][17]
Citizens and nationals from many countries were recruited to the scam centers with majority being from China. Other nationals included Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brazil, Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand.[18][17]
Locations
The main hubs of the scam centers are mainly focused around the following regions below.[19]
- Laukkai : Scam operations in Laukkai are mainly located around Myanmar's northern frontier which include other centres in Muse, Lashio, Mong La and Pangkham.[20] The region became a major cyber-scamming hub, run by Chinese syndicates after the 2021 military coup. The United Nations has termed Laukkai's evolution to scam centers as "scamdemic" where over 100,000 people, primarily Chinese nationals, were lured into the compounds, detained and compelled to carry out complex online fraud schemes aimed at victims around the globe. The Ming family, one of the most powerful clans based in Laukkai, ran large call-centre fraud networks, which in an estimation to generated over 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion+) in revenue.[21] The family patriarch Ming Xuechang reportedly killed himself, with other family members being handed over to the Chinese authorities.[22] Abuses and tortures such as beatings, restriction of movement, long working-hours, trafficking and explorations were common in the center.[23][24] In October 2023, a coalition of ethnic armed groups launched Operation 1027, taking over Laukkai which led to the scamming workers flee from the region with some being held captive. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army raised intentions to eliminate cyber-scamming in the territory.[25]
- Myawaddy: The area is a frontier town in Kayin State. It became popular for establishing scam centers with mainly Chinese nationals being centrally involved as both operators and victims.[26] Since early 2025, more than 5,200 people have been extricated from Myawaddy scam facilities and over 3,500 have been repatriated through Thailand.[27]
- Mong La : Forced online-fraud labor have occurred in around the region with victims including female being trafficked here and compelled to run cyber scams under criminal syndicates operating in the Golden Triangle.[28][29][30]
Abuses and violence
Victims are forced to work long hours for up to 17 hours a day to produce scams such as romance fraud, fake investment pitches, crypto scams and online gambling frauds.[31][32] Food was limited and poor and medical care was nonexistent. Victims were reportedly tortured physically with beatings and electric shocks when they refuse to work, miss targets or tried to escape.[33] Many nationals from Bangladesh,[34] Nepal[35] and Pakistan[36] were tortured among reported, including more from China, Brazil, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia,[37] India, Laos, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Tanzania. Beatings were done with PVC pipes, ropes, charging cables or sticks, which left serious bruises and injuries on the victims.[33] According to a man from India reported, 800 people were given to share only 10 toilets.[38]
People who were able to escape reported psychological distress such as fear, anxiety, nightmares and long-term trauma. Many victims were reported having suicidal thoughts and deep shame from being forced into illegal acts.[39]
Crackdown
In 2025, the Myanmar military launched multiple high-profile raids on scam sites. KK Park was raided and partially cleared, with thousands of workers freed and satellite terminals seized with more than 600 buildings being demolished and releasing 2000 people. In centers around Shwe Kokko, nearly 350 operators and workers were arrested.[40][41] Over 10,000 foreign nationals alleged to be involved were reportedly detained.[18]