Asia's Scamdemic: The Age of Internet Predators

This episode, we investigate the online scamming industry that is
plaguing Southeast Asia -- particularly Thailand. The Chinese
underworld is trafficking people into Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos
and forcing them to swindle victims young and old. And it's
gotten much worse since the pandemic began, with Thailand's scam
calls jumping 270%.


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After host Waj Khan opens the show, we hear from a Thai scammer
who was held against his will for six months (04:42). Next, Alice
French explains why scams increased during the pandemic in her
Tokyo Dispatch (07:43). And finally, Monica Hunter-Hart
interviews Dominic Faulder, the reporter behind the "scamdemic"
investigation, with details about how the scam gangs operate, how
different countries are responding, and what can be done to solve
the problem (10:25). Asia Stream is hosted by Wajahat S. Khan,
our digital editor and executive producer, and produced by Monica
Hunter-Hart and Alice French.


Related to this episode:


Asia's scamdemic: How COVID-19 supercharged online crime, by
Dominic Faulder


Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs, by Shaun
Turton