Travellers on Tourist Visas Targeted as Scam Recruitment Shifts Beyond Cambodia

Cambodia's government declared in late August 2026 that no online scam compounds remained in the country, but recruitment advertising for scam work in Cambodia continued through late October, according to a Cambodian security analyst who has tracked thousands of such ads. Analysts say scam operations linked to the industry have since appeared in a widening list of countries.

Key facts

• Cambodia launched a year-long crackdown on scam compounds in July 2025 after international pressure.
• In late August 2026 the government said no online scam compounds remained in the country; scam job ads were still posted in late October.
• Operations and bosses have relocated to countries including Myanmar, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Pakistan, Georgia, Croatia, Nigeria and Madagascar.
• Sri Lankan police said in May 2026 they had arrested more than 1,000 foreigners since the start of the year over alleged cybercrime.
• Vietnamese police charged 88 foreigners and one Vietnamese national in October 2026 over a romance-scam ring operating from a hotel.

Where have scam operations moved?

Analysts and police reports describe a scattering of scam activity away from Cambodia since the crackdown. Sri Lankan police reported in May 2026 that they had arrested more than 1,000 foreigners since the start of the year for alleged involvement in cybercrime, most of them from China, Vietnam and India. Authorities and researchers attributed the increase to Chinese syndicates relocating from Cambodia and Myanmar, citing Sri Lanka's relaxed visa rules, developed telecommunications infrastructure and relatively weak cybercrime enforcement.

In October 2026, police in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam, charged 88 foreigners and one Vietnamese national with using digital means to misappropriate property and facilitating illegal stay in Vietnam. The indictment said the group rented a hotel from June 2026 to run romance scams targeting victims in Japan, China, Taiwan, the US, India and South Korea, with equipment and data transported from Cambodia. Police estimated the group took 50 billion dong (nearly US$2 million) from victims.

How are travellers and workers affected?

Most of those accused in the Vietnam case were Chinese nationals, along with 28 Indians, nine Cambodians, one Malaysian and one Myanmar national. The indictment said the majority entered Vietnam on tourist visas, while 22 entered illegally, 21 were without passports and one was on a wanted list.

Recruitment ads on Telegram continue to advertise scam-linked roles in Cambodia, including modelling work, according to Cambodian security analyst Moses Ngeth, who reviewed 4,991 ads posted between 2023 and 2026. One ad described in the article offered $4,000-$5,000 a month for overnight video-call work. Ngeth said scam operations often relocate to the home countries of their workers.

What is happening to former scam workers?

The crackdown left thousands of scam workers stranded and undocumented, without money or legal support to get home, the article reports. Mark Taylor, an independent consultant who previously worked for USAID in Cambodia, said the closures targeted facilities and forced labourers while largely avoiding action against the owners and managers of scam centres. Some stranded workers were reportedly considering taking scam work again, and Ugandan survivors said some returnees were later recruited to work in Madagascar.

Mina Chiang, founder of the UK-based Humanity Research Consultancy, said the industry now resembles a mature illicit labour market, with experienced managers and workers actively seeking new employers while syndicates recruit for new locations.