Cyber slavery hubs in Myanmar, Cambodia: How Indians have fallen prey to jobs racket

The issue was first flagged by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in September 2022. He noted that several IT professionals from the state had been lured by job openings posted on social media and were stranded in Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries

Indian security agencies have taken several measures, including running awareness programs, to prevent the illegal transportation of job seekers as cyber slaves. (Freepik)

Delhi Police recently arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in a transnational ‘cyber slavery’ syndicate operating in Myanmar. The arrests came after the repatriation of 300 Indians who had been forced to carry out cyber frauds in call-centre-style setups, referred to by agencies as “scam compounds,” in Myawaddy, Myanmar. Both the arrested persons had allegedly sent one of the victims to Myanmar for this cyber slavery job.

Besides Delhi, the police in Gujarat and Haryana have also registered cases and arrested individuals allegedly involved in a similar racket of sending job seekers from their states into cyber slavery operations in Myanmar.

Security agency officials, including Delhi and Haryana Police, and cybersecurity experts like Kanishk Gaur, have revealed how Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos have become hotspots for such frauds after COVID, as well as the measures taken by the Indian government to prevent these acts.

How did Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and other Southeast Asian countries become cyber slavery hubs?

Myanmar and Cambodia are home to several rebel groups that are opposed to the government, who have resorted to illegal activities such as human trafficking and running cyber-scam centres in a bid to survive.

Given the widespread corruption and the visa-on-arrival policies, syndicate members can lure job-seekers from South Asian countries.

Additionally, betting and casinos are legal in these countries. After Covid-19, many of them were converted into scam centres following the global jobs crisis.

Also Read | How jobseekers from India were sent to Myanmar, turned into cyber slaves

All these conditions helped shape the scamming industry as we know it today: victims from South Asian countries are lured in by lucrative IT or data entry job offers in Thailand promising monthly salaries of Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh. However, upon arrival in Thailand, their passports and identification documents are seized by agents of this syndicate at the airport, after which they are transported to scam centres. They are then ferried to the borders of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos through illegal routes, where these centres operate.

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These centres function like full-scale call centres, where work is assigned based on the victim’s skillset.

When did this issue first come to the attention of Indian authorities?

The issue was first flagged by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in September 2022. He noted that several IT professionals from the state had been lured by job openings posted on social media and were stranded in Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries.

Similar cases were later reported from Gujarat, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. In those instances, young men were reportedly taken to these countries via Dubai and later tortured upon refusing to participate in cyber-fraud activities. The victims said they were forced to work 15-18 hours a day in harsh working conditions, failing which the agents and security personnel at the companies where they were forced to work assaulted them mentally and physically. The victims said they had to live in dormitories within the same scam compounds where they work.

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How has the Indian government intervened to rescue victims of such scams?

Indian authorities, including the immigration department at the airport, have started thoroughly checking passengers to ascertain the purpose of their visits to foreign countries. They often ask for and verify details of the companies where travellers intend to work.

Security agencies have taken several measures, including running awareness programs, to prevent the illegal transportation of job seekers to Southeast Asian countries.

Between January 2022 and May 2024, over 70,000 Indian job seekers travelled to these countries. After the issue was highlighted by the Tamil Nadu government in 2022, the Indian government acted swiftly and managed to bring back over 1,500 Indians from these three countries, with the majority from Myanmar and Cambodia. About 20,000 are yet to come back to India, and the process of repatriation is still underway.

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Indian embassies in these countries, including Thailand, are working on a large scale to conduct raids on such call centres and cyber-scam compounds and initiate the repatriation of victims. The Ministry of External Affairs is closely monitoring the situation and has made Indian Air Force aircraft available to return the trapped people to India. Once the individuals land in their respective states, the state police, with the help of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and I4C, will pursue further investigations.

Ultimately, resolving the issue of cyber slavery is incumbent on India’s bilateral or multilateral treaties with countries in the region.