While preparing my previous blog, I collected regularly available information about the massive scam operations. I was surprised about the incredible range of scam fields, and I organized the information in different types of scam reports:
- Surprise about the sheer numbers arrests and discovered materials necessary for scamming;
- Scamming happens in elaborate facilities of their own, or in rented rooms in hotels;
- There are scam organizers, but the majority of people involved say that they had been lured with promises of high-paying jobs, but only later found out that they were forced into scam operations;
- Some scamming activities require high technical skills, but always convincing speaking abilities for financial scams, shopping scams selling fake or nonexistent items, romantic scams building emotional trust and then requesting money for emergencies or medical bills, sextortion where attackers threaten to expose sensitive photos unless payment is made, fake emails or phone calls pretending to be from government agencies;
- People from many countries are involved, because to convincingly cheat, requires good normal language abilities: it is surprising how wide the scamming organizers reach out to get qualified staff: people from the following countries have been arrested in Cambodia: Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, England, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, USA, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
It is surprising how many scamming operations are now discovered day by day. I just collected examples from the last couple of days, sometimes up to five events on the same day; I arrange the following reports – from about only two weeks – according to the number of arrests:
- 7 detained after raid on condominium in Phnom Penh
- 12 Bangladeshi online fraud suspects nabbed in Phnom Penh
- 17 arrested in scam raid on Koh Kong guesthouse
- Court Detains 40 Foreign Nationals Over Online Scam Operations Based at Hospital
- 53 arrested in Phnom Penh anti-scam raid
- 56 detained in Poipet scam swoop
- 61 suspects face charges after Phnom Penh fraud raids
- Over 100 arrested in Bavet City scam bus
- Over 100 foreigners arrested as they flee Poipet anti-scam raids
- 156 Chinese nationals linked to online scams deported from Cambodia
- Authorities deport 166 Chinese nationals in cybercrime sweep
- Over 200 arrested as authorities turn up heat on scammers
- More than 200 people arrested in Tboung Khmum scam raid
- 300 arrested in Poipet scam center raids
- Foreigners flee as over 1,000 arrested in raid on Poipet scam center
There are also sometimes partial summaries; the total numbers are unknown:
- Cambodia raids 250 scam hubs in 9 months
- Over 4,000 foreigners arrested since March
- Over 2,500 foreigners deported from Cambodia in last 10 days of April
We observe these continuing problems in spite of several Cambodian official declarations, that such online scam operations would be brought to an end:
- As early as October 2022, Cambodian authorities announced that they had dismantled scam compounds in Sihanoukville and freed over 1,000 trafficked workers – part of a decisive effort to end online scam operations.
- Two years later, on June 30, 2024, the Interior Ministry created a 14-person working group to “stop all scams in the country so that people no longer say Cambodia is a haven for criminals.”
- About one year later, on July 14–23, 2025, Prime Minister Hun Manet ordered governors, police, and military to eradicate scam centers nationwide, warning of dismissal for non-compliance. A month-long operation followed, dismantling 138 sites and arresting 3,075 suspects. Officials declared the crackdown “successfully concluded.”
- But in March 2026, Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith announced Cambodia would shut down all scam centers by April 2026, claiming 80% (200 out of 250) had already been closed. He emphasized that suppression activities would prevent reemergence.
- Even after April 2026, there is still a lot going on.
Observing these developments over several years, the US newspaper Wall Street Journal published an article on April 19, 2026, titled “How Cybercrime Became a Leading Industry in ‘Scambodia’”.
This wording was strongly criticized and rejected in Cambodia.
The Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra wrote to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, and his letter was published, pointing to the government’s ongoing efforts to combat transnational cybercrime and strengthen law enforcement measures, while calling for balanced and responsible reporting on the issue, and requesting that the Wall Street Journal remove the term “Scambodia”, describing it as insulting and damaging for Cambodia’s reputation.
In another letter to the editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, the Cambodian Human Rights Committee President Keo Remy also raised concerns over the article, stating that the term “Scambodia” unfairly portrays the entire country as linked to transnational crime, and risks fostering hatred and discrimination against the Cambodian people.
Such criticism is understandable, as such narratives can influence investment, tourism, and diplomatic perceptions for Cambodia.
None of these critical voices seem to question the reported content about the scam enterprises. Nor do they discuss how it was possible that the authorities did not see earlier and act, what they see and do now.
One journalist raised the question, whether a greater openness from the authorities towards inquisitive journalists could have helped towards a much earlier discovering of the extent of the scam industry, and a broader awareness could have helped towards discovery and crackdowm.
To understand the history of the growth of the scam industry in Cambodia is still a challenge for local journalists.