WIRED | It began with a message journalist Andy Greenberg’s inbox. A computer engineer from India was trapped far from home and forced to work 15-hour shifts running romance scams.

What the Hack? | The scam industry relies on organized crime, human trafficking, and corruption. Erin West, Jake Sims, and Gary Warner share their insights and expertise.

Europol | The Spanish National Police, working with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, disrupted operations of the “Black Axe” international criminal organization.

CTV News | An investigation looks into why the people making scam calls targeting Canadians seem to be so willing to scam people out of their life savings.

Hard Reset | Tech both enables and profits from the scam industry. Billionaire leaders have some of the world’s most advanced tech, yet do little to stop scams or support victims.

TRM Blog | TRM breaks down the recent indictment of the chairman of Prince Holding Group for crimes related to the operation of forced-labor scam compounds across Cambodia.

ABC7 | Operation Shamrock’s Erin West describes her visit to the site of a scam compound implicated in the DOJ’s $15B seizure from a cyber fraud operation.

US DOJ Press Release | Chairman of Prince Group indicted for operating Cambodian forced-labor compounds engaged in crypto scams. DOJ files forfeiture action against about $15 billion in Bitcoin.

The New Indian Express (AFP) | Despite a crackdown that was supposed to shut down Myanmar scam centers, they’re growing — and Starlink’s presence in the compounds has increased.

1A — WAMU NPR  | Where do scam texts and calls come from? Who sends them? The sender is likely trapped in a scam compound and being forced to commit fraud.

Reuters uses illustrations to tell the story of Oly, an IT consultant who flew from Ethiopia to Thailand to meet a friend for a few days. He was trapped in Southeast Asia for five months.

ASPI | In a new report, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute outlines what’s happening as Myanmar becomes a haven for transnational organized crime groups.

The Guardian | Operated by crime syndicates and fostered by the military junta, the number of massive scam complexes on the Thai-Myanmar border has doubled since 2021.

Whale Hunting | Trafficked workers in Southeast-Asian compounds run crypto scams to siphon billions. Operation Shamrock is prying open the ‘pig-butchering’ machine — and fighting to free victims.

Verso Books | Based on years of field research, Scam provides a probing investigation of Southeast Asia’s online scam industry, told through the voices of survivors.

Reuters | Lured to Cambodia and forced to defraud strangers online, a Thai teenager said he barely survived after jumping from an eighth-floor window to escape a prison-like compound.

Amnesty International | The Cambodian government is ignoring abuses carried out by criminal gangs in more than 50 scam compounds across the country.

Amnesty International | A detailed report documenting the alarming human rights crisis in Cambodia, identifying at least 53 scam compounds where rights abuses have taken place.