Recent raids on one of Myanmar’s most notorious internet scam hubs sparked a recruitment rush as fleeing workers scrambled to enlist at nearby fraud factories, according to experts and insiders.
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Online scam hubs have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, draining unsuspecting victims of billions of dollars annually in elaborate romance and cryptocurrency cons.
Many workers are trafficked into the internet sweatshops, analysts say, but others go willingly to secure attractive salaries.
Late October raids roiled Myanmar fraud factory KK Park, sending more than 1,500 people fleeing over the border to Thailand, but many stayed behind to pursue new opportunities in the black market.
A Chinese voluntary scam worker said that a few hundred people who left KK Park arrived at his own compound 3km (two miles) away on October 23, lured by monthly salaries of up to US$1,400.
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The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, shared his live location on a messaging app showing he was in Myanmar, near the Thai border.