New analysis and imagery show Myanmar’s scam compounds have more than doubled along the Thai border since the 2021 coup, expanding by about 5.5 hectares per month. The military regime relies on militias profiting from these sites, limiting its ability to crack down while tens of thousands of trafficked workers run global 'pig‑butchering' frauds targeting the West.
— It reframes cybercrime and online fraud as a conflict‑economy problem tied to state–militia bargains, not just policing, with implications for sanctions, trafficking policy, and international law.
BeauHD
2025.10.15
70% relevant
The article describes Cambodia‑based scam compounds with trafficked workers and political protection, paralleling the Myanmar case where authorities and militias enable large‑scale cyber‑fraud operations.
2025.10.06
85% relevant
The article details Shwe Kokko/Yatai New City in Myanmar’s Kayin State as a scam‑compound hub with forced‑labor trafficking, mirroring the existing thesis that Myanmar’s militia‑protected enclaves have expanded into industrial‑scale fraud zones shielded by the regime’s wartime political economy.
EditorDavid
2025.09.13
100% relevant
Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) data (11→27 sites; 5.5 hectares/month growth), Thai police estimate of 100,000 people detained, and UNODC’s note on recruiting English‑speaking East Africans.
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