China pushes neighboring countries to rein in scams after rare public outcry
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Authorities in Beijing are ramping up pressure on neighbors to rein in cyberscams after the high-profile kidnapping of a young Chinese actor who says he was trafficked into a criminal enclave in Myanmar. Parts of war-torn Myanmar and other countries in Southeast Asia have become havens for sprawling scam compounds, where hundreds of thousands of people are forced to swindle billions of dollars out of victims in the U.S., China and elsewhere.
The scammers, many of whom have themselves been duped and effectively enslaved by criminal gangs, often ensnare victims in fake relationships and persuade them to pour money into bogus investments. This week, the Chinese government called an unusual crisis meeting in the southern city of Kunming with officials from other countries in the region. The officials from Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China pledged to arrest ringleaders, shut down so-called scam dens and free victims of human trafficking, according to a report on Chinese state television.
China has in recent years arrested tens of thousands of people suspected of involvement in the scams, including in raids of scam compounds led by Chinese law enforcement abroad. But Beijing has been criticized for not doing enough to stop the practice, as many of the alleged crimelords behind the scams are Chinese. China’s latest moves against the burgeoning scam industry were prompted by the kidnapping of a minor film and television actor who says he was lured to Thailand for a shoot.
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