How India's IT professionals got trapped in Myanmar, Cambodia’s cybercrime dens

The ambition of a high-paying foreign job has landed scores of Indians in the growing dark world of cybercrimes in South East Asian countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. While the government, along with embassies in these countries, is bringing back the trapped Indians, the rot runs deep. And it has turned into a humanitarian crisis, not just for India but neighbouring nations China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia--even Russia.

The personal accounts of victims of these crimes are as ironic as they can be. Young professionals, especially IT graduates desperately seeking jobs, are getting trapped in the so-called Shāzhūpán (the 'pig butchering' scams). This illegal industry thrives on defrauding people, especially in the US and Europe, by digitally robbing them of millions of dollars using the latest tech and conventional ways of making online friendships.

Hundreds of Indians have been trapped in such facilities across Myanmar and Cambodia. Media reports show Myanmar's ethnic armed group-dominated Myawaddy region, which is not in control of the Myanmar government, particularly notorious for such activities. Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and Sihanoukville, a province in its southwest part, have even bigger industrial-scale cyber fraud units, some of them operating out of famous hotels.

On October 5, 2022, Arindam Bagchi, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson, put out a series of tweets, saying India is making serious efforts to rescue such individuals. "We have been actively pursuing the case of Indians being trapped in fake job rackets in Myanmar. Thanks to the efforts of @IndiainMyanmar & @IndiainThailand, around 32 Indians had already been rescued," he said, adding that another 13 Indians rescued from these locations had also reached Tamil Nadu.

He said some more Indian citizens have been rescued from their fake employers and are in the custody of Myanmar authorities for illegal entry into that country. "Legal formalities have been initiated to get them repatriated at the earliest," he said, adding that details of agents allegedly involved in such job rackets have been shared with relevant authorities in various states for appropriate action.

Notably, the MEA also issued an advisory regarding fake job rackets targeting IT-skilled youth on September 5, 2022. The ministry said the main target groups of these fraudsters are IT-skilled youth duped in the name of lucrative data entry jobs via social media ads and agents based in Dubai and India.

"Before travelling on tourist or visa for employment purposes, Indian nationals are advised to check or verify credentials of foreign employers through concerned missions abroad and antecedents of recruiting agents as well as any company before taking up any job offer."

In India, young boys and girls from Tamil Nadu are particularly affected by these scams. TN chief minister MK Stalin, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had recently flagged the issue and sought his intervention in rescuing 50 IT professionals from TN who were trapped in Myanmar. Multiple reports say there are over 300 Indian IT professionals stuck in these South East Asian countries.

How IT human trafficking works

Initially fake IT jobs ads are floated online on social media platforms, including LinkedIn, OkCupid, Tinder, Facebook and Telegram, which allure them to work in countries like Thailand. Many travel agents also work as accomplices in these rackets. Once an individual accepts the offer, expecting high salaries and decent foreign life, and decides to relocate, Chinese criminal syndicates traffic them illegally to dubious locations in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where they come to know the bitter truth. The victims are then manipulated and coerced into defrauding people using investment in crypto as bait. Many aspirants accept the bargain and become paid participants in these syndicates, while others try to resist and make efforts to get out.

However, the task is not easy. In case they don't abide by and refuse to do illegal work, these individuals are told to pay extravagant sums (more than $10,000) to ensure their release. Unable to pay such high amounts, they are subjected to extreme situations ranging from physical abuse, food deprivation, electric shocks, and in some cases, rape.

If they are still a problem to a particular cybercrime syndicate, they are sold to another fraud operation, fearing law enforcement agencies and the cycle continues. The only way one can get out is if (s)he manages to flee from such facilities or if respective authorities come to know about illicit activities.

Cybercrime syndicates’ modus operandi

Though people in this digital age are well aware of online frauds, the modus operandi of the industrial-scale cyber scamsters has also become sophisticated. Like the term 'pig butchering' -- the practice of fattening a hog before slaughter -- they use complicated scripts to target individuals and try to touch upon their pain points or make emotional connections, while enticing them to invest, especially in crypto.

The target individual, in most cases based in Europe or the US, is initially befriended using WhatsApp, Tinder or LinkedIn messages. If the target is male, the picture on these platforms shows a beautiful girl – the pictures are easily available at cheap rates on Chinese sites like YouTaoTu – and the person tries to build a connection. A similar technique is used for female targets as well, using sourced pictures of handsome males.

After initial conversions about life, hobbies and interests, the target is engaged in conversations about crypto investments. Through several conversations, (s)he is convinced to make a small crypto investment. In all cases, the target gets high returns, mostly 100%. As the emotional connection and trust grow, the person is enticed to go a step higher to earn even greater returns. After several rounds of high returns on the investment, the target is coaxed to go all in by pushing the investment limit to the extreme. Then comes a stage where the target is ready to put all his life savings at stake, expecting the usual high returns. That's when the tide starts to turn, and the entire investment goes down to zero.

The victim then enters the final stage of 'the pig butchering' scams, and (s)he is convinced to somehow arrange more money -- life savings or loans -- by blaming it on market sentiments. Hoping to get all the lost money back, many a time, people who are in a state of 'emotional arousal', keep on depositing funds, hoping to replicate previous gains, but to no avail. Most of the time, such targets hide their ordeal from friends and family out of shame and guilt. When they come face to face with reality, they suffer from mental illness and other health issues.

The irony of this entire crypto cyberfraud system is that both the target and the accused enticing the individual are the victims of the larger syndicates operating in these countries. Reports also show a rise in mysterious deaths in many of these scam-hit cities, of late. The issue has also flagged concerns around the misuse of crypto once again. Many victims are now also working towards helping the people stuck in such illegal operations.