Cambodia Cyber-Slavery Rescue: 14 Indians remain stranded in the country and await their repatriation
- Posted on July 20, 2024
- News
- By Arijit Dutta
- 157 Views
Fourteen Indians rescued from cyber-slavery in Cambodia await repatriation. They were among thousands lured by fake job offers and forced into illegal online activities. The Indian embassy is working to facilitate their return while warning others about such scams.
The latest news involves 14 Indian citizens who were recently saved from forced cyber fraud activities in Cambodia are looking forward to being repatriated. The victims, most of whom are young men from the Northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, were among more than 5,000 Indians who were lured to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on the pretext of employment but instead were forced into criminal cybertrading.
The rescue operation that involved Cambodia’s local police has revealed one of the biggest job scams that target Indians majorly. They are currently lodged in a non-governmental organisation and the Indian embassy is seeking to repatriate them.
This is one of the largest cyber-slavery networks which were discovered earlier this year and the Indian authorities stated that about 250 Indians were saved and repatriated. The scam primarily entailed giving the victims the hope of receiving a legitimate job offer upon arrival in Siem Reap, Cambodia, only for their passport to be taken and forced into working in ‘cyber scamming’ call centers.
The fake Rand was exposed recently after a senior Indian government employee complained to the force that he had fallen for the scam and been defrauded of over ₹67 lakh. Following that, in December, Rourkela Police of Odisha busted a cyber criminal module which was indulged in human trafficking to Cambodia and arrested eight persons.
Indian Embassy in Cambodia has recently released an alarm to the Indian citizens advising them to get a job only with the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs. The embassy alerts the public, especially the youth, regarding fake jobs for jobs such as “Digital Sales and Marketing Executives, Customer Support Service,” from companies in the call-center scams and cryptocurrency fraud.
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While attempts to fight this type of abuse go on, the 14 Indian men who were rescued bring to light the dark side of the promising overseas jobs offers.