Caught in Cambodia’s Scam Machine: Part 1
6/21/202632 min
Who are the workers behind the global scam industry?
In Cambodia, more than 200,000 scam workers have been released from fortified compounds, where many of them had been trafficked, held against their will, and forced to work for little pay. The Cambodian government’s recent crackdown has enabled reporters to get a closer look at an industry responsible for defrauding Americans of at least 20 billion dollars in 2025.
But how did these workers end up in Cambodia, and what was the promise that drew them there? In this two-part series for The Sunday Story, investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani dives into the previously hidden world of the global scam industry. And she follows the story of one Ugandan man, who traveled far from home for a job that was “too good to be true.”
Listen to Part 2 here.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAyesha Rascoe· Host0:02
I'm Aisha Rosco and you're listening to the Sunday Story from Up First.
Shibani Mahtani· Guest0:06
Um, so we've come in through the back now. Security guards stopped us. They didn't allow me to take any photos.
Ayesha Rascoe· Host0:14
Earlier this year, investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani visited a massive industrial complex outside of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. It's set up like an office park, but it's fortified against the outside world.
Shibani Mahtani· Guest0:30
There's barbed wire all around, um, CCTVs. Uh, you can see lookout posts as well, uh, on the top of the buildings.
Ayesha Rascoe· Host0:40
People once lived here, about 20,000 of them.
Shibani Mahtani· Guest0:44
Looks like dormitories, sort of white, uh, buildings with black rails, uh, and with, uh, bars on, on the windows.
Ayesha Rascoe· Host0:53
And it's clear that it was abruptly abandoned.
Shibani Mahtani· Guest0:56
So much trash. It's a whole little city. I mean, Times Square could fit in, in this. So all of these are, are hallmarks of a scam compound.
Ayesha Rascoe· Host1:04
This cyber scam compound is among dozens in Cambodia that operated with impunity for years. Migrants were brought to these places from throughout Asia and Africa and put to work scamming people on the other side of the world. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, the cyber scam industry managed to defraud Americans of more than $20