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International cybercrimes target Asian citizens
In many cases, victims of human trafficking know the perpetrator but are not willing to reveal his or her identity because the perpetrator is their own relative.
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Into the rabbit hole: Trapped between debts and bills, many human trafficking victims are employed as scammers. (JP/Hengky Wijaya) (JP/Hengky Wijaya)
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n March 14, CNN International quoted the Cambodian Ministry of Interior as stating that "cyber-scam traffickers are targeting professionals across Asia." The report informed us of the 172 Indonesian migrant workers (IMW) who became online fraud operators in fraudulent investments in Cambodia targeting their fellow Indonesians (Kompas Aug. 5, 2022).
On Sept. 22, 2022, The Jakarta Post reported a similar case in Malaysia. It quoted Malaysia's foreign ministry which had received 301 reports of people trapped by the job scam networks in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
Indonesians and Malaysians were tempted by job vacancies in Cambodia with attractive payments. Sadly, they ended up forced to work beyond their limits, all their documents were kept by their employers, they were prohibited from leaving the house and pressured for money.
Such cases are not new. In May 2015, the police arrested dozens of foreigners from China and Taiwan for allegedly committing online fraud targeting Chinese and Taiwanese citizens.
Cybercrime has become a threat to every country. A well-known cybersecurity company estimated in December 2022 that losses from cybercrimes globally reached US$190,000 every second or $11.4 million per minute.
The INTERPOL Global Crime Trend Report 2022 (IGCTR) noted that cybercrimes such as ransomware, phishing, online scams and computer intrusion in all 190 member countries are “high or very high.”
Domestically, National Police detectives recorded 8,831 cybercrimes in 2022, up by 14 times from the previous year.
