Cambodia’s Scam Crackdown: Unveiling the Illusion
Is the crackdown real? Are the Cambodian scam compounds truly shutting down? Or are they just moving?
Episode 41: A year after her first visit to see the workings of the scam industry for herself, Erin West returns to Cambodia. This time, she’s there to investigate whether the world’s largest pig butchering scam operations are shutting down, or simply regrouping.
From Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and Mansion 8, she explores abandoned scam compounds, examines the crackdown tied to Chen Zhi and Prince Group, and exposes the human trafficking driving global crypto fraud. Her findings reveal what American victims are really up against.
I came here with a question: Are they serious? — Erin West
Erin West discusses the history behind the rise of scams and human trafficking in Cambodia. She shares what she’s seen firsthand, highlighting the scale of the scam industry, the involvement of organized crime, and the plight of human trafficking victims forced to scam. Erin emphasizes the need for awareness and action against these crimes and how Operation Shamrock addresses the challenges law enforcement faces.
And she explains why romance scams are such a prevalent part of the industry. “They're so genius. They have deliberately chosen a crime that people do not want to report,” she says. “It would be one thing if they had to report that they had been in an online relationship and it turned out that person was not who they thought they were. That’s embarrassing enough. But then they also believed a story about investment and they lost every penny they had. People are humiliated.”
This is the new global war. And it goes like this: “We are going to outsmart you, take all of your money, and cause chaos in your country. And you’re not going to be able to react fast enough to stop us.” — Erin West
Listen to this episode to hear:
How what Erin discovered in an abandoned compound near Phnom Penh reinforced the stories she’s heard from escaped trafficking victims.
Why what’s actually happening with the compounds in Cambodia doesn’t match what the media is reporting.
The levels of organization and logistics used to move people in and out of compounds to stay ahead of police raids — and how they know the raids are coming.
Evidence of continued operation and large-scale construction of mile-long compounds.
Steps we need to take to react to the crisis — and the U.S. companies that know about it, but are watching it happen.
An architectural rendering of a Mansion 8 compound from the now-shuttered Huione Group website.
Episode 41 Chapters
02:30 First Visit to Cambodia: February 2025
06:52 Scam Compounds Everywhere
08:21 A Mission to Educate and Protect
12:09 2026 Return to Cambodia: Is the Crackdown Real?
13:36 Chen Zhi and the Prince Group
16:48 Inside an Abandoned Compound
20:42 The Math and Logistics of Closing Compounds
21:59 Is Sihanoukville Really Shut Down?
24:47 New, Bigger Compounds: Mansion 8
25:28 Shakilu: A Voice from Inside the Compounds
30:38 The Scale of Growth, The Growing Threat
38:06 The US Companies Watching It Happen
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BioCatch prevents financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate.
Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam and IDeveryone, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.
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