Cyber slavery: Bangladeshis forced into online scams in Cambodia

Cyber slavery: Bangladeshis forced into online scams in Cambodia

Trafficking victim Tofail Ahmed said he was sold to a heavily guarded cyber scam facility in Cambodia

He was told to pose as a woman online, build fake relationships with foreign nationals, and collect their personal information

The 26-year-old from Sirajganj paid Tk 7 lakh after being promised a job as a computer operator with a monthly salary of Tk 80,000

His visa later described him as a construction worker with North Asian Construction Company. The broker said the designation would be changed after he reached Cambodia

Tofail left Dhaka on June 30, 2025. ed him

Two days later, he was taken to a remote facility, where his passport, other documents, and money were taken away, he told The Daily Star

Tofail said the operators of the cyber scam facility appeared to be Chinese. They told him that he had been sold for $2,000 and would not be allowed to leave. He said he was beaten with hockey sticks and given electric shocks whenever he refused to collect personal details from their targets

He returned home on June 14 this year after paying the scamsters

SAME TRAP

Talat Mahmud of Manikganj said he paid Tk 5 lakh to go to Cambodia in November last year. He travelled ded over to a firm run by Chinese people near the border

There, his typing speed and English proficiency were tested. When he wanted to leave after realising what he was being made to do, his Bangladeshi agent asked him to stay, saying a better job would be arranged later

Talat said he had to work through the night, and his agent gradually stopped responding. Soon afterwards, his phone was taken away and returned for around 10 minutes at a time. The operators told him he had been bought for $3,000

Police case documents reviewed by The Daily Star show a similar pattern: job promises, large payments, mismatched travel documents, airport handlers, and delivery to guarded scam compounds

Another victim, Al Amin, a Faridpur resident, said he went to Cambodia after being promised a data-entry job on an employment visa, only to find after arrival that he had a tourist visa. After two to three days, he and others were taken to a scam compound and sold for $1,500 each

“My job was only to collect phone numbers using a female name and photos,” he said

He described a layered operation: one team collected phone numbers, another built relationships, a third gathered addresses and banking details, and the information was then passed to hackers who tried to empty the targets’ bank accounts

Mannan Sohel of Shariatpur said his ordeal continued after escaping a scam compound, as traffickers filed a false case accusing him, his father, and younger brother of trafficking. He said his father was in jail for 26 days in the case

Maimuna Akter Mili alleged that she borrowed money to have a job in Cambodia that promises Tk 80,000 a month. She said a Bangladeshi received her on arrival and handed her over to a company run by Chinese people, where her passport and phone were taken away and she was forced to work

She also alleged that many Bangladeshi women remained trapped in Cambodia after being lured with similar job offers

RETURNEES

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A total of 109 Bangladeshis rescued from different scam facilities returned home on July 1

With them, 583 Bangladeshis have been repatriated from Cambodia since June, said BRAC’s Migration Programme

According to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data cited by BRAC, 15,921 Bangladeshis travelled to Cambodia for work over the past one and a half years

Talking to The Daily Star, Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s Migration Programme and Youth Platform, described the situation as “cyber slavery”

He said trafficking victims were being forced to make others victims through online scams. “When someone goes abroad with BMET clearance and a smart card, they believe they are going through the official process. But instead of getting a job, they are being sold off.”

Mostafizur Rahman, additional superintendent of CID’s Trafficking in Human Beings Unit, said many Bangladeshis had returned from Cambodia, but a few had filed cases

He said CID had already arrested several suspects and investigations were underway. “When we made the process stricter, they [traffickers] shifted to alternative routes. Some used fake BMET cards. Some went to Thailand as tourists and then moved to Cambodia.”

Contacted, Nurul Haque Noor, state minister for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, said the ministry had tightened scrutiny of visas for people travelling to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos for work, and asked law enforcers to act against those involved in visa fraud and overseas job scams. 

Source: www.thedailystar.net