The public expresses deep alarm and outrage over the escalating human trafficking and scamming crisis in Southeast Asia, spotlighting governmental complicity and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals. There is a strong urge for global accountability, awareness, and decisive actions to combat these acts, with many sharing personal concerns and experiences.

Southeast Asian Governments

International organizations

Local law enforcement

I’m curious is it only neighbouring countries and people of asian appearance that get abducted or white foreigners as well 

[deleted]

There was a video that was pretty well done. I think by CNN on this situation right across the river. They had satellite imagery showing how the compound was built up in only a couple of months.

physicsking

Perfect post, this is why I dont want to take the risk to work in Cambodia. The wages is too low compares to what I get from my home country US.

Remote_Manager3333

Great round up; it'd be useful in other SEA subreddits like /r/VietNam and the like. Then, I assume folks could translate it into local languages. Cheers.

MezcalFlame

Excellent post, appreciate all the information

Why did you post a link to our enemy's sub?

SEAboxing2020

You say you don’t want to prove your identity because you are about to expose the connection between the Chinese govt.’s road initiative with the camp where you were confined and tortured, but doesn’t the Chinese govt. know your identity?

Long_Alfalfa_5655

How were you kidnapped?  What was it like working at the camp?

cofcof420

How are your parents doing?  If I was your mom, I would be sleeping in your room and clinging to you.

Also do you have any permanent damage from the torture?

Lastly, are we doing any good by leading the scammers on and wasting their time?  I'm kind of doubting it but it sucks to do nothing.

I'd like the mods here to check with NYT to confirm your identity and then pin this.

Bekiala

Were the women in the Brothel trafficked too?

OMG! That's terrible! Those poor people coerced like this. How did you manage to get out?

AromaticDrink3120

Hi, thanks so much for getting your story out.

I haven't finished reading it so maybe this question is covered in the story.  Apologies if it is.

What were the other prisoners like?  More men or more women?

How safe is it for a small group of girls to travel to Thailand? 
Are there any preventative measures to take? How dangerous is it despite the suggested precautions?

MalignantExistence

okay ...here ya go,  do they actually let people go once they  earn the $1m???  I am in contact with a captive right this second.  The last question he asked is, "what is their next move".  being somewhat familiar with the location...it isn't good.  I've sent to coordinates to several governments,  including China.  But I've had no response back.

Ok_Row765

I wanna ask are you ok now ? how are you doing with all the trauma left from this horrible experience

Pretty-Bubbles

Can you assist in getting a man out of a compound in Myanmar on the boarder of Thailand? 

Hour-Foundation-9680

Do you think it's dangerous for male Chinese tourist to travel sololy to places like Chiang Mai or Pai? I'm backpacking and hope to continue to Luang Prabang, Vientiane in Laos and Siem Reap in Cambodia.

CommercialPale6832

Thanks for the article and AMA. I have a couple of questions if you're still answering.

What do you think would have happened to you if you didn't get help from outside?

Have people been murdered there, as far as you know? Does that happen often?

AlternativeCorner492

IcyPickle3051

Are you in the USA now? or did you just do the story with NYT?

oldschooltruancy

Smooth-Papaya-9114

&gt;I am the guy in this NYT story, however I shall not provide any prove or answer to any question in regard of my identity.

That's a laugh.

Did you guys get people to click on links with malware? If so what kind of malware would you infect the victim with? 

Were you guys security conscious? Like if I wanted to get you to click on a link would it be easy or did they discourage that? Did you guys use phones or computers to communicate with victims? If you had access to a computer do you remember what operating system version was used? If it was a phone, what kind?

I’m sorry for your experience, I hope you’re able to heal from this.

popthestacks

is the scam economy powering junta-led or non-junta-led Myanmar? I thought USIP had said China was souring on the junta because of its tolerance of scam gangs but I also thought the areas we keep hearing about are outside junta control.

ettateufel

Is there any tourist tricked into the scamhub? Will they start targetting tourist given that I assumed more people would be aware of this and will not fall for any high salary job scam?


Are they capable of kidnapping tourist from thailand? 

SnooLentils8930

oh my goodness, this poor man. this must have been terrifying. so glad he made it out safely! also his gf sounds like a legend - staying calm in a situation like this can make all the difference

edit: typos

earthxmoon

This is the sketchiest thing I’ve ever heard. Why was he defending Thailand right away? Why is the prime minister talking about tourism impacts?

PizzaReheat

I'm Vietnamese with many friends in the local entertainment industry and the same thing is happening to a lot of people here. Several actors or production people have reported being lured to Myanmar, Laos and especially Cambodia under the guise of a potential job, forced to take a "crew bus" organized by their "client" before they are kidnapped and trafficked. They are then sent to one of these scan compounds or a casino and forced into slave labor.

yikesus

This article has a more detailed timeline of how it happened https://inf.news/en/entertainment/198645b63a86302fa015cb20ea3cd6ab.html . One good thing at least is it says what was initially reported as bruising was actually a birthmark on his leg and beyond his head being shaved he wasn't physically harmed. Still horrifying, thank goodness he was rescued. 

*edit also this one which insinuates the statements he made may have been a product of negotiations to get him out rather than his own feelings, explains more what the victims of these kidnappers normally go through and that there are still 49 victims where he was being held that have not been rescued https://inf.news/en/entertainment/3177006298e5d27a8b536c178a423848.html

BerdLaw

zesty jobless impossible illegal uppity psychotic noxious sophisticated middle tidy

 *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev/home)*

The picture of him post-abduction is haunting.

SpiritualWestern3360

This is awful! I hope all the people who were found with him were saved, not just him. Ive never heard about people being abducted to work at a scam center. And extremely weird that they’re not addressing that, but how he would still go to Thailand and tourism wont be affected?

SiobhanRoy1234

The "sub" headline did him dirty with the "would come visit again" bit when it looks like he was probably made to say it by the authorities

Also he was detained in a warehouse with 50 people, probably rescued there, but no words on whether or not the 50 others are safe or if they're working to get them out as well ?

Gold-Concentrate-744

Maya_TheB

That is harrowing. I’m glad he and the other 50 people were found safely!

AltSockAlt

Wild to watch this happen to someone with a known media presence.

askingtherealstuff

I highly doubt this is the entire story. Myawaddy is not easy to get to. 9+ hours by bus from Bangkok or a sketchy propellor plane from Bangkok to the border. Can only cross by a land bridge where you have to go through passport control. Before you even cross the bridge you can see the town and see it is up there for one of the worst urban slums you can imagine. There’s no way he believed there was an acting job waiting for him.

Flimsy-Depth

They typically target poor migrant workers with an employment scam, picking them up at the airport and delivering them to a guarded compound where they are extorted for ransom money. If they can't pay (maybe even if they do pay), they get forced into slavery working scam call centres to target new victims in their own language in order to pay their own ransom money. That ransom money accrues interest the longer it is unpaid, meaning that in practise, these people are enslaved forever. If they are uncooperative, they are beatened, drugged, deprived of food or harvested for organs. 

It was a big news story in Taiwan last year when some natives from the mountains looking for work got enslaved in Cambodia. But it looks like most victims are usually from SEA, China and Pakistan. And Kristina is right. The sponsors are usually rich Chinese financiers working directly with (in this case) Hun Sen's family.

Al Jazeera did a documentary about it
https://youtu.be/n-EtdC4zQso

plushie-apocalypse

The majority of them seems to come from Mainland China. Can’t speak for those in Thailand but the organised criminals based in Cambodia (Sihanoukville) and Myanmar (Kokang and Wa State) are either just Mainlanders or ethnic Chinese who have connections with Mainland China.

Kristina_Yukino

I may be a little out of the loop. But is there a reason you are singling out gangs from SEA for their criminality from all the organized crimes virtually in every country of every region?

Queendrakumar

Increased scam centers in Southeast Asia are exploiting trafficked individuals for online fraud.

Human Trafficking and Scamming in Southeast Asia

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