fredag 13. mars 2026

Has Cambodia really cut cybercrime by half?

Cambodian authorities said last week that they had cut activity in scam compounds by half since the start of this year, as the government in Phnom Penh responds to international pressure to clamp down on digital criminal networks.

The Southeast Asian country has grown into a global hub for digital scammers in recent years. Experts estimate the criminals' profits to be in billions of dollars, with the industry targeting victims all over the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into scam centers under false pretenses, according to the UN. The victims are then kept in slave-like conditions and forced to work for the organized criminal networks.