"Inside the call centre scam that lured vulnerable workers to Cambodia and trapped them in the murky world of human trafficking", 29 December 2022

The job advertisements were too enticing to scroll past — marketing and administration roles at a lavish casino in Cambodia, with high salaries and paid accommodation.

For Nokyoong, a 26-year-old Thai single mother of three, and her cousin Neung, 40, it seemed like an incredible opportunity to make money for their family.

As soon as they saw the ads on Facebook they contacted the recruitment agent, speaking multiple times to find out the details before signing up.

But within a day of arriving in Cambodia's casino capital Sihanoukville, their hopes were crushed…

"I was so afraid I wouldn't see my kids again," Nokyoong told the ABC. "I was afraid that I would be killed over there, I saw how they beat people."

"When we arrived at a casino in Sihanoukville, Thai and Chinese people took us to a building and the door was locked," Nokyoong said.

… They say they were made to work in a call centre, using dating apps on mobile phones to meet people looking for love…

According to the US State Department's 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia failed to meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, and were designated the lowest rating, tier 3.

… In a joint Cambodian-Thai Police operation, the Sihanoukville call centres they worked in were raided and shut down and 74 Thai workers were detained.

Nokyoong says they were held in a Cambodian hotel provided by the Thai embassy for around a month while police investigated. They were then taken back over the border by bus…