Cyber slavery racquet from South East Asian countries : Trafficking Indians, Shock Treatment and Physical Abuse

In Cambodia as well as Laos, cyber criminals are kidnapping, physically assaulting, and electrocuting Indian community employment seekers into making fellow Indians losers through the internet. Cyber slavery is here, and statistics have shown that 65–70 percent of lost money comes from Southeast Asia alone. 

The problem has reached the ears of the top level of government, with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, central intelligence agencies, and NIA collaborating to tackle this emerging threat to India’s financial system. While a meeting was in session with social media intermediaries at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the organizations were called upon to prevent these vices. Specific recommendations on those aspects were given to these intermediaries.

Using the sources provided by I4C, it becomes apparent that the fraudulent call centers use the technique of a multi-tier bank transfer system to make money through up to nine banks before converting it to cryptocurrencies or international cash withdrawals. Cyberslaves, stock market hackers, and numerous ‘cyber gangs’ from separate houses located in Southeast Asia—Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar—have siphoned off more than Rs 7,061 crores of public money in just four months of this year alone. This rise in criminal activity has resulted in more than 600,000 requests made to the I4C. 

Specifically, in four months of this year, the Indian authorities have frozen transactions from 325,000 intermediary accounts, banned over 3,000 URLs, and closed 595 applications under Section 69A of the IT Act. Besides this, the Indian agencies have also terminated around 530,000 SIM cards and 80,848 IMEI numbers from July 2023 onwards.

According to a senior official from the Ministry of Home Affairs, cybercriminals seeking employment are targeted through targeted advertisements based on their cookies and search histories on social media applications. The organizers of this operation invest heavily in advertising on social media platforms. Additionally, these fraudulent enterprises collaborate with Indian agents who facilitate the placement of young job seekers in countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand.

The officer remarked, “After shortlisting the candidates based on their communication skills, they take some money and arrange tickets to these countries. Once they arrive, these individuals are taken into one place and asked to surrender their passports.”He further explained that once job seekers surrender their passports, fraudsters place them in various compounds guarded by armed individuals. They provide them with equipment, including phones and contact details of fellow Indians, to carry out scams.

“Those who refuse are physically abused, subjected to shock treatment, and have their passports confiscated to prevent them from returning home. Left with no choice, these Indians fall victim to cyber slavery. Victims proficient in English are lured and fraudulently sent to Laos and other countries where they are compelled to work in fake call centers,” told another government official on the matter to News18.

More recently, the NIA has progressed in interrogating a case of human trafficking and cyber-cheating under various sections of the IPC and the Emigration Act. The NIA conducted search operations in many areas in Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan to determine the participation of several conspirators involved in human trafficking and cyber fraud-related activities associated with operations in Laos. 

NIA pulled up five locations in Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan in its drive against those involved in human trafficking and exploiting youth by taking them to Laos’ Golden Triangle SEZ. These places comprised Balwant alias Bobby Kataria’s offices and associates, who were the primary accused in the case. During the investigations, the NIA said the suspects were alleged to have coordinated the transportation, accommodation, and sourcing of victims for a cyber fraud scheme originating from Laos. The examined human trafficking ring was active in Gurugram and many other places within and outside the country. It was involved in the procurement, transportation, and movement of victims from India to the Golden Triangle SEZ in Laos.

Global Perspectives on Cyber Slavery: UNODC’s Findings

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has identified frauds originating from Southeast Asia as a clandestine and increasingly pressing danger. According to the report they published, “Southeast Asia faces unprecedented challenges posed by transnational organized crime and illicit economies, and in recent years has become a testing ground for new technologies.” Further adding, “According to officials, victims included many skilled workers with information technology expertise, among others, who had been lured into the country through social media advertisements promising high-paying jobs at casinos and hotels who were ultimately deceived and trafficked into heavily guarded compounds for forced criminality, namely perpetrating cryptocurrency-based romance and investment scams.”

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