In Cambodia, thousands flock to “scam pools” and increasingly find little help

Bangkok — On a recent night, Yuga was grateful when he finally slept in bed—even though there was no pillow or blanket.

The African man said he slept on the street for two days after arriving in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, after escaping from a fraudulent complex in Osmach, which borders Thailand in the north. He only had $100 left to his name and wanted to save money. So the Caritas shelter took him in.

The shelter was the only one of its kind that helped victims escape fraud complexes Previously funded by the United States. Today, the company is stretched thin, operating with a third of the staff and a fraction of the budget it once had, as the country faces an unprecedented wave of workers leaving the fraudulent complexes.

Now that the shelter is overwhelmed, it has had to turn away people in need — more than 300 of them. “It’s become a triage,” said Mark Taylor, who works on human trafficking cases in Cambodia.

As of last week, the shelter housed about 150 people. Many of the new arrivals were sleeping in a shared room with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Yoga, who spoke on the condition that only his first name be used out of fear of his former bosses, said the shelter did not have enough pillows and blankets.

Cambodia is facing an unprecedented flood of workers leaving scam complexes. It comes weeks after the country Extradition of a suspected gang leader Of fraud that was She played a prominent role in Cambodian society To China in January.

In recent years, Online scams have become endemic To the region in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. Inside these buildings, scammers have built complex operations, using phone booths lined with foam for sound insulation, scripts written in multiple languages, Even fake police booths From countries from Brazil to China. In Cambodia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that there will be up to 100,000 workers alone in 2023.

Following increasing international pressure from countries such as South Korea, the United States and China over the past few months, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hon Manet Last month she declared that “fighting crime is a deliberate policy priority” and specifically singled out online fraud. The Cambodian government said it deported 1,620 foreign nationals from 21 countries linked to the scams in January.

The complexes have been letting people out in large numbers in recent days, according to 15 videos and photos posted on social media and verified by Amnesty International. The organization also interviewed 35 victims, who described the “chaotic and dangerous” situation as they tried to leave, although many indicated the Cambodian authorities were not involved in the mass migration.

The exit from the fraudulent complexes has created a humanitarian crisis on the streets, which activists say the Cambodian government is ignoring. “Amid scenes of chaos and suffering, thousands of traumatized survivors have been left to fend for themselves without state support,” Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International’s regional research director, said in a statement.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia rejects allegations that it is failing victims of trafficking or tolerating abuses associated with fraud complexes,” said Neth Pheaktra, Cambodia’s Minister of Information, in response to the allegations. “All individuals are screened to separate victims from perpetrators, with victims receiving protection, shelter, medical care and assistance for safe return.”

Li Ling, one of the rescuers, said she had a list of 223 people, most of them from Uganda and Kenya, who had emerged from residential compounds in Cambodia asking for help to return home. She and her partner have spent at least $1,000 of their own money to house some of the most desperate cases, but they can’t afford another week.

She added that as of last week, some had returned to work in the complexes. It was that or face sleeping on the streets.

“When international organizations based in Cambodia continue to ask victims to go to their embassies, but the embassies tell us frankly that they have no clear path or process, responsibility is shifted back and forth, creating a closed loop with no way out,” she said. “This is not a one-time failure, but a systemic collapse.”

She added that these victims waited for hours outside the office of the United Nations International Organization for Migration in Phnom Penh, but were told that the Caritas shelter, where the International Organization for Migration works, was full.

Yoga, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said he was repeatedly beaten while inside an apartment complex because he refused to work. He was determined to get out and escaped on his own as the mass releases began.

The Associated Press was unable to independently verify his entire trip, but it viewed messages containing his appeals for assistance to the International Organization for Migration. The agency said it could not comment on individual cases.

While the shelter is still operating, the most concerning thing in the coming weeks is the food budget, Taylor said. “It’s hand to mouth.”

The Caritas shelter received financial support from Winrock International, USAID’s partner in Cambodia, according to Taylor, who oversaw the funding. It was scheduled to receive $1.4 million from USAID from September 2023 through the first part of 2026. This funding source disappeared after the suspension of US foreign aid and the dismantling of USAID in early 2025.

The shelter was also partly funded by the International Organization for Migration, which was largely funded by the United States and has also seen its funding cut.

Although several anti-human trafficking organizations are registered in Cambodia, Caritas Shelter is the only one receiving victims of fraud complexes in an increasingly oppressive environment. Amid government pressure, independent media outlets were closed, and Prominent journalist – known for reporting scam complexes – was arrested and detained for a month.

“Given the deeply repressive environment in Cambodia that stems from the fraud industry’s role as the dominant source of ruling party elite rent-seeking, there are a very small number of formal organizations prepared to respond to this issue on the ground,” said Jacob Daniel Sims, a visiting fellow at Harvard’s Asia Center who has worked on combating human trafficking in Cambodia.

Rescuers say many who don’t make it to the shelter could end up in immigration detention centers, forced to pay bribes from officials. Others are now booking hotel rooms in groups if they have the money. Those with embassies in the country can get help, such as Indonesians or Filipinos.

Yuga can’t go home. He belongs to the Banyamulenge ethnic group that was targeted Attacks by armed groups. He also does not have an embassy in the region that can help him.

He was lured into a fraud complex in Cambodia in November after his family sent him to neighboring Burundi. He said he wasn’t looking for a job, but someone he didn’t know messaged him on his phone and then emailed him about a job, and all expenses were paid. He said no, but the recruiter still applied.

Yuga said he was a college student before and wants to continue. For now, he just hopes for a safe place. “I want to rebuild my life with dignity,” he said.