Fake job offers lure Filipinos into Myanmar scam hubs near Myawaddy

More than 400 Filipinos are being forced to work in telephone scam operations at a compound near Myawaddy, Myanmar, after being recruited through online job advertisements for posts in Thailand, according to a migrant assistance network and survivors who spoke from the Thai border town of Mae Sot.

The workers are made to impersonate United States law enforcement officers and pressure American victims into sending money. The accounts describe how people travelling for what they believe are legitimate jobs can end up trapped across the border in Myanmar.

Key facts

• More than 400 Filipinos work across three phone lines in the operation, according to information received by INQUIRER.net
• Workers are recruited online for communication or information technology jobs in Thailand or Myanmar
• Demolition work in the Shwe Kokko area was reported at 80% as of 18 October 2026
• Two escaped survivors were repatriated on 8 October 2026; a third was deported on 20 October 2026
• The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center logged nearly 61,000 impersonation scam complaints from January 2025 to July 2026, with reported losses above $1.6 billion

What is happening inside the operation?

One worker, identified only as Denise, told her account from Mae Sot. She works 12-hour shifts starting at 4 p.m. on a company-issued phone, dialling numbers belonging to people more than 8,000 miles away. Calls are passed up the chain once someone answers.

Roughly 200 Filipinos are assigned to Line 1, which calls potential victims. More than 100 work on Line 2, posing as New York Police Department officers and using intimidation and threats of criminal charges to extort money. Another 100 handle cryptocurrency transfers on Line 3. Denise said impersonating police officers is more profitable than romance scams because people fear getting into trouble.

The compound sits in an area marked as an “Unnamed Location” on Google Maps near Myawaddy. The Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victims Assistance (CSNHTV) says Filipino and other victims are made to work in scam hubs at KK Park in Shwe Kokko, in Myanmar's Myawaddy Township, run by Chinese organized crime syndicates and local militias.

How are people recruited?

Denise previously worked in Malaysia. As her contract neared its end in July, she found a Telegram advertisement for a Myanmar company called USA Call Center Marketing and travelled from Malaysia to Yangon for the job, only to be put to work scamming in Myawaddy.

A trafficking survivor identified as Jack, who escaped from Dragon Bay Park, also known as Yulong Bay Park, said most Filipinos he met in Myawaddy had previously worked in Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs in the Philippines. He and two others escaped on 30 September. They had been offered communication or IT jobs in Thailand but were trafficked to Myanmar. Survivors also allege that an assigned immigration officer at Ninoy Aquino International Airport helped them leave the country.

What is being done?

Thousands fled Shwe Kokko for Mae Sot during military raids on scam hubs in November 2025, and many buildings were later demolished as Myanmar's military junta sought to show it was cracking down on scam syndicates and human trafficking. The state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar reported demolition work had reached 80% by 18 October 2026, but workers say the operation continues, with windows covered in black plastic and phones used instead of computers to save electricity.

Ellen Sana, executive director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), said anti-trafficking work rests on four Ps — protection, prevention, prosecution and partnerships — but that prosecution remains weak because of missing documentation and lengthy court proceedings.

Col. Dominador Matalang, a former Philippine police attaché in Thailand who helped coordinate rescues along the border, called for “stricter interventions,” thorough interviews with survivors and closer regional cooperation among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member states.

What this means for travellers

The accounts show that overseas job offers advertised online for posts in Thailand or Myanmar can lead to people being trafficked into scam compounds rather than legitimate work. Anyone considering such offers should verify the employer and the role before travelling, and be aware that survivors describe being moved onward from the country they were promised.

Matalang recommended screening informational videos at airports and seaports as part of a public information campaign. Hundreds of Filipinos continue to be trafficked to Myanmar and other countries despite warnings from authorities, and the cases point to gaps that officials say still need to be addressed.