"Cambodia to Form Task Force Committee to Combat Online Scam, Rescue Victims", 27 January 2025

The government will establish an Inter-Ministerial Task Force Committee to fight online scam operations, an effort which seems to come on the heels of widespread criticism of alleged large-scale cyber-scams in Cambodia.

The setting up of the committee was announced by Prime Minister Hun Manet during the ... meeting, Chou Bun Eng, Vice President of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, said after attending the two-day event ...

“Not all fraud cases [online] involve human trafficking as the offenses are complicated now; victims can turn to suspects,” Bun Eng said.

“Online scam issues are new in Cambodia,” she remarked, adding that the task force committee will not only crack down on crime but also rescue victims and carry out legal procedures.

Bun Eng said Cambodia is an “impacted country” as online scam has spread to other countries and regions, noting that the crimes are linked to foreigners.

Casinos or resorts in Cambodia and the region with alleged links to large-scale illicit cybercrime “trafficked victims” and “forced” them to participate in criminal activities in scam compounds, according to international organizations such as the United States Institute of Peace and UN Office of Drug and Crime. In September 2023, UN Human Rights revealed that criminal networks in Cambodia allegedly trafficked over 100,000 people.

“We congratulate the task force committee but we want to see real effective action, especially where big places were busted in relation to illicit business [cybercrime],” said Ny Sokha, President of NGO rights group Adhoc…