Myawaddy telecom fraud survivor recounts nightmarish trap in Myanmar; tactics to lure victims more sophisticated amid intensified crackdowns

The rampant telecom fraud in northern and eastern Myanmar has recently made headlines again following the rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing who claimed to have fallen into a scam park after being brought to Myawaddy, a city in east Myanmar across the Thai-Myanmar border, where Thai police reported that Wang was a victim of human trafficking.

Media reports have revealed that fraudsters view Chinese individuals lured to border regions of Myanmar by high salaries and organized smuggling as essential profit tools, often trading them between different scam operations. They refer to these victims as piglets, or "Zhu Zai (in Chinese)," evoking the image of livestock crammed into cages, awaiting sale.

These villainous activities targeting Chinese individuals have faced several rounds of vigorous crackdowns by China, after having partnered with local authorities in Myanmar and Thailand over the past two years.

At a press conference on January 10, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) spokesperson Zhang Ming announced that by the end of 2024, over 53,000 Chinese suspects linked to fraud had been captured, effectively dismantling the notorious "four families" crime syndicate in northern Myanmar. Large-scale scam operations near China's border have been eradicated, resulting in a significant decline in telecom fraud cases and financial losses nationwide. However, the situation remains dire, and efforts to combat these crimes have increased.

To delve into the harrowing experiences of Chinese individuals trapped to Myawaddy and to unravel the intricate web of human trafficking and fraud behind it, the Global Times spoke with a survivor, the families of those still missing in Myanmar, and researchers, uncovering the evolving tactics and alarming trends.
A survivor's harrowing experiences in Myawaddy

"Never again do I want to go through that," Dr Zhang, a survivor of a harrowing ordeal in Myawaddy, Myanmar, told the Global Times, recalling fragments of his nightmare trapped in the forced scam center. In 2022, Zhang, a PhD holder from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found himself ensnared in a web of deceit that led him to a fraudulent operation in the eastern Myanmar city of Myawaddy. The catalyst for his descent into this hellish experience was the dire need for funds to cover medical expenses for his ailing family members and girlfriend.

After resigning from his stable position at a botanical researcher, where he earned a modest salary of 5,000 yuan ($681.8) a month, Zhang turned to an online "agency" that promised a lucrative job as a translator in Singapore. What followed was a betrayal that would change his life forever.

Instead of the bright lights of Singapore, he was thrust into a dark world where he was forced to impersonate Asian women online, luring men in North America, working 18 hours a day.

The deception began long before Zhang set foot in Myanmar. The agency assured him that the job was in Singapore, with a temporary location in Thailand.

"They asked for my diploma, English proficiency certificates, a health report, and a clean criminal record," he recounted. "They even provided a job invitation letter and bought my flight ticket. It all seemed very credible."

Zhang was then taken to the border between Thailand and Myanmar, crossing the river into Myawaddy, Myanmar. "At the time, I had no idea that river was the border. They never mentioned Myanmar, always referring to it as Thailand. By the time I realized I had been deceived, I was already in a scam center in Myanmar," he recalled.

Once in Myawaddy, the reality was far from what he had imagined. Zhang quickly realized that escape was nearly impossible. Those who attempted to flee faced brutal consequences. "Two men held me down and beat me with a thick wooden stick," he recalled. "They left my lower body black and swollen, and I was so disoriented I could barely stand." He was confined in a cage-like structure made of steel pipes, alongside others who had either tried to escape, leaked information, or simply slacked off. Their hands were shackled to the pipes, and they were forced to stand for hours on end as punishment.

Until September 2023, a post about a PhD-holder from the Chinese Academy of Sciences being lured into a telecom fraud operation in Myanmar went viral on Chinese social media, raising public concern. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of Chinese police, the Chinese embassy in Myanmar and Thailand, and Thai authorities, he was successfully rescued.

After returning to China, Zhang shared his experience on Weibo to warn others avoid similar traps, expressing gratitude for the support he received from the government and society.

Vanishing signals at the border

A joint letter asking for help from the families of 174 individuals trapped in Myanmar has been trending on China's social media platform Sina Weibo recently, following the rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing. The families of the 174 individuals trapped in northern and eastern Myanmar expressed concern that their missing relatives might be victims of human trafficking who have been unaccounted for, for a few months to three years.

In a WeChat group the families established, the Global Times found a document containing information about their missing relatives including the age, origin, time, and routes of disappearance. Thousands of messages flooded the group daily, highlighting the vanishing signals at the border. Mothers, brothers, wives, and sons waited desperately for any sign from their loved ones, sending each other words of encouragement.

After analyzing the information in the document, the Global Times found that the missing relatives' disappearance primarily follows two routes: Some went missing after entering Myanmar near the Thai-Myanmar border, while others disappeared after crossing the border from China's border city of Yunnan into Myanmar.

One family member, surnamed Bai, shared with the Global Times that his son went missing in early August 2024 after entering Myanmar to "discuss an investment opportunity pitched by a friend." The son later managed to send a covert signal to his family 10 days later, indicating that he was in fact trapped in a telecom fraud park and forced to engage in illegal transactions, working 17 hours a day with a monthly performance target of 100,000 yuan. Failure to meet the target resulted in severe beatings, and in some cases, death.

Based on the messages he occasionally sent back covertly, Bai's son revealed that they were coerced into using popular Chinese social media apps to find victims, and were often subjected to physical abuse and psychological manipulation. His son said he has multiple bruises and injuries. Due to underperformance, his fingers were broken, leaving only those that do not affect typing. To prevent their escape, their shoes were burned, and everyone in the compound was made to wear flip-flops, according to the messages.

Based on information from his son, at the end of October 2024, after hearing the news of a "cleanup operation," the scam syndicate quickly relocated its personnel, cramming everyone into a large truck while handcuffed. As the cross-border crackdown on these operations intensified, the scammers adapted, moving their operations to different locations to evade law enforcement.

Bai learned from his son that some stranded individuals had managed to buy their freedom for ransoms of at least 300,000 yuan, but his family lacked the funds to secure their son's release.

In a chilling advertisement circulating online, a scam operation in Myawaddy was seeking new recruits, offering high salaries for those willing to engage in fraudulent activities. The price of one recruitment is clearly marked: "Ordinary people: 100,000 yuan; fast typists: 120,000 yuan; aged between 20 and 30."

When Dai, a family member of another missing, first received a request for an interview from the Global Times, she was cautious. It wasn't until the Global Times sent official identification that she finally let her guard down, responding with three crying emojis. Dai shared that during the search for their missing relatives, many families had encountered "scammers." In their desperation to rescue their loved ones, some had been tricked out of hundreds of thousands of yuan, suffering a second blow.

On September 30, 2024, Dai's younger brother traveled from Hangzhou to Southwest China's border city Xishuangbanna and subsequently vanished. Local police later informed Dai that her brother's phone signal was last detected in Wa State, north Myanmar. After that, there was no trace of him.

Dai recounted that her brother had always dreamed of becoming a vlogger and was passionate about the live-streaming business. Through friends, she learned that he had taken out online loans to support a female streamer he admired, who had repeatedly encouraged her fans to tip her. The streamer's account has since been deactivated. Dai suspected that her brother's disappearance might be linked to this online loan.

New tactics, new challenges

The 2023 Rule of Law Blue Book published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reveals that telecom fraud has become the most concerning crime for the public, with 80 percent of fraud call parks located overseas.

Reports of Red Star News affiliated with the Chengdu Commercial Daily indicate that fraud groups first appeared in Myanmar around 2010, initially in northern Myanmar, with rapid growth after 2015, peaking around 2020. An insider estimates that during its peak, a typical fraud park could generate billions annually.

Jian Kunyi, deputy dean of the School of Law and Political Science at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, cautioned against the resurgence of the "slave trading in modern society," noting that the scope of telecom fraud in Myawaddy is broadening to target celebrities and intellectuals for greater profits.

Bao Zhipeng, an assistant researcher at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, also warned that telecom crime in some Southeast Asian countries remains acute critical, with localized criminal activities evolving in tactics and targets. "Under pressure from cross-border law enforcement, scammers in northern Myanmar are shifting operations to the Thai-Myanmar border, and even to the Middle East. Some scam operations in Myawaddy continue to expand their infrastructure, while certain groups were reportedly returning to Thailand and Cambodia," said Bao.

Both Jian and Bao believe that China's collaborative cross-border law enforcement operations have made significant progress, as evidenced by the frequent relocation of criminal gangs, their changing targets, and the increasing cost and difficulty of baiting.

Although significant progress has been made in combating and addressing the issue, the current criminal situation remains severe and complex, MPS's spokesperson Zhang said on Friday.

The crime exhibits clear transnational and organized characteristics, with fraud syndicates having tight organizational structures. Fraud leaders and key members coordinate with domestic personnel to engage in various illegal activities, according to MPS.

Fraud methods are also rapidly evolving, with fraudsters closely following social trends and tailoring scams to individuals' preferences. They create customized fraud scripts for people of all age groups, professions, and educational backgrounds, leading to a wide range of victims, the spokesperson said.

"Myawaddy's armed forces are more powerful and the scam hubs are larger and more organized than those in northern Myanmar, complicating law enforcement efforts. Local armed groups, often in conflict with the government, collaborate with criminal organizations to sustain their operations. Compared to northern Myanmar, Myawaddy is more isolated both regionally and culturally from China, making it harder to combat crime and rescue victims," Jian analyzed based on his long-term studies on relevant issues.

Bao noted that the geographical advantages of areas like Myawaddy, with developed and complicated transport networks, make them hotspots for transnational crimes, including human trafficking.

He pointed out that recent trends show increasingly covert methods and a broader international target base, with fraud groups expanding their reach to citizens from various countries, leveraging new technologies like generative AI.

In addition to Chinese nationals, there have been cases of citizens from Russia, Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, and India being lured to Southeast Asia, particularly Myawaddy, to engage in telecom fraud, according to Bao.

Regarding cases where Hong Kong residents are suspected of being lured to Southeast Asian countries and detained to engage in illegal work, the city's Security Bureau (SB) said on Sunday that SB officials will lead members of the dedicated task force to Thailand on Sunday to further follow-up on the request for assistance cases.