Thousands of Indians trapped as cyberslaves have gone missing in Southeast Asia

Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Indians, have fallen victim to cyberslaves in Southeast Asia, where they are coerced into working for internet con artists who prey on Indians back home in an attempt to steal millions of dollars from them. Now the Indian government is cracking down on this new cyber crime.

The telecom ministry of the nation has blocked over 226,000 devices and disconnected 21.7 million mobile phone connections. Meanwhile, the Home Ministry, Immigration Bureau, Financial Intelligence Unit, Reserve Bank of India, Information Technology Ministry, and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have formed an interministerial group.

Requests to stop incoming overseas “spoofed calls” with Indian cell numbers displayed have been made to telecom carriers. Thirty-five percent of inbound international calls are dropped calls. The telecom companies are also required to provide information about Indian mobile numbers that are used in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, and Myanmar when roaming, according to a story published by The Indian Express on Monday, September 30. 600,000 of these phones were reportedly roaming around Southeast Asia in April and June of this year, according to a source cited in the article.

According to official data, 29,466 Indians out of the 73,138 who traveled on tourist visas to Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam between January 2022 and May 2024 have not yet returned. The Indian local governments have been directed to conduct comprehensive background checks and whereabouts inquiries by the interministerial commission.

According to an Indian Express article, the states of Punjab (3,667), Maharashtra (3,233), and Tamil Nadu (3,124) are where they are primarily from. Almost 70% of those who “disappeared” had left India and traveled to Thailand.

Prior claims from Indian media outlets stated that at least 5,000 Indians were held captive in Cambodia, Southeast Asia’s epicenter for cyber slavery. Despite their initial misgivings about joining reputable companies, a large number of individuals were coerced into committing different cyber crimes. Indians living in their homeland are the subject of many of these crimes, which frequently involve extortion of more than 5 billion rupees.

Southeast Asia is the origin of 45% of cybercrimes against Indians, according to data from the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Center. Since January 2023, around 100,000 complaints have been filed with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.

This year, there have been many reports of Indians reporting that they are being kept against their will, are stuck in Southeast Asian nations, or are being saved by government agencies. In May, the government announced that 360 Indians working as cyber slaves in Cambodia were deported in the preceding five months.

More than a thousand residents of the southern state of Tamil Nadu were reportedly suspected of becoming cybersoldiers in August when they traveled to Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi are some other states of origin.

Thus far, hundreds of them have been saved by the Indian government, foreign organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

What is Cyber Slavery?

Cyber slavery is a contemporary kind of slavery that “begins with online deception and evolves into physical human trafficking,” according to the CyberPeace Foundation. “It can take many different forms, such as coercive involvement in cybercrime, forced employment in online frauds, exploitation in the gig economy, or involuntary slavery.”

Indians were selected’ for well-paying positions, but in reality, they were made to labor in appalling circumstances for 16 hours every day. They are coerced into engaging in illicit internet work such as cryptocurrency fraud, dating and romantic scams, and money laundering.

Modus Operandi

Indian media reports claim that cybercriminals recruit Indians in their 20s and 30s from different states for data input jobs. After arriving in nations such as Cambodia and Laos, these businesses confiscate their passports and force them to make fraudulent phone calls, primarily to Indians residing in their home country.

A large number of these calls entail the virtual version of honey traps. Indians are asked by fraudsters to make fictitious female social media identities. The scams cover everything from dating to bitcoin investments. The victims’ numbers are restricted and they are ghosted after they make a money deposit.

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