When we think of call centres, we typically envision busy office spaces where employees tirelessly handle customer inquiries and complaints. However, for some individuals, call centres are an unexpected gateway into a world of exploitation and deception. Trafficked into these centres, individuals are forced to scam Australian citizens, often under the threat of violence or harm to their families back home. In this article, we delve into the harrowing reality of those who are trapped in this cycle of abuse, exploring the layers of deception and the long-term effects that it has on their lives.
Rahim had a job as a boat operator in Indonesia, transporting essential items between islands, which was enough to support his family. However, when the pandemic forced borders to close and tourists to leave, work dried up, and Rahim began to search for other opportunities. He was then offered a job in Cambodia through an acquaintance, promised a salary of US$700 a month to market cryptocurrency on various online platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok. Rahim accepted the job, thinking it was a great opportunity to earn extra money for his family. But upon arrival in Cambodia, he found himself held captive in a call centre, forced to scam foreign victims out of thousands of dollars, including Australians.
In May last year, Rahim was taken to a compound where he joined 70 other people. His passport was confiscated, and he was taught how to scam victims online, pretending to be attractive women and targeting men who seemed affluent, as well as older Australian citizens who had money sitting in the bank. His ‘job’ was to trick people into handing over their savings to his supervisors. He was monitored and forced to work long hours from 8 am to 8 pm, eat food that went against his Muslim customs, and meet a quota of hooking three people a day, or 21 a week. If he failed to meet his targets, he was beaten with a belt or a computer keyboard, and when he made mistakes, he was locked in a dark room and not allowed to eat for a week.
Rahim wanted to go home, but his captors demanded payment of A$3,000, which he did not have. After three months, Rahim and another worker made contact with the Indonesian embassy, and the International Justice Mission (IJM) helped evacuate them and nine other Indonesian nationals. The three people who trafficked Rahim into the job were sentenced to between three and four years in jail, marking some of the first convictions for human trafficking related to scamming in Indonesia.
According to the anti-slavery organisation International Justice Mission, human trafficking related to scams is a growing problem in the region, with criminals exploiting the pandemic’s economic impact. Traffickers force people from across Asia to work in online scam centres in several countries, including Cambodia, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Many victims are kept in old, empty casinos run by crime syndicates that have links to the Cambodian elite. The problem is increasing, and Cambodia was downgraded to the worst level possible in the US’s annual trafficking in-person report last year. Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN special rapporteur, said that thousands of people had been trafficked into the country to work as scammers.
Dan Halpin, the founder of private cybersecurity firm Cybertrace, says that there is a noticeable increase in scams coming from south-east Asia, with traffickers luring victims with false promises of employment and an attractive wage, usually advertised on social media or messaging apps. Victims’ devices and documents are often confiscated, and uncooperative workers are physically abused and sold from one scam operation to another.
In Australia, Scamwatch data shows that over A$1m is lost every day this year to scams, and a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics into personal fraud shows that 65% of people received a scam offer or request in 2021-22, up from 55% in the previous year. The Australian Federal Police are working with counterparts across south-east Asia and are leading the development and delivery of the Cyber Safety Asia programme, which provides cybercrime investigations training to law enforcement personnel across the region.
IJM Australia’s chief executive officer, Steve Baird, says that the prosecution of the three Indonesian nationals who trafficked Rahim sends a strong message, and more convictions are needed to set a precedent and stop the scamming centres. Baird believes that tens of thousands of people are working in scamming centres, and the problem is widespread. Rahim is now back with his family in Indonesia, delivering water from home to home in his village on the island. He hopes to find a better job and send his children to school, thanking those who helped him escape from his captors.
