scam industry – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Indonesians freed from scam centres wait outside the Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh for help returning home. Magdalena Chodownik/Anadolu via Getty Images

February 11, 2026

They escaped appalling conditions in scam factories. Now, they are living on the streets in Cambodia

Ivan Franceschini, The University of Melbourne; Charlotte Setijadi, The University of Melbourne, and Ling Li, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Thousands of people from Indonesia, China and Africa are waiting for help to return home, but the process has been slow and many are increasingly desperate.

December 11, 2025

Asia’s scamming gangs target Timor‑Leste as their next frontier – but they may have misjudged the small island nation

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Anthropologist Michael Rose speaks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about how a official sounded the alarm about organised crime in Timor-Leste.

Senior minister Agio Pereira, who has alleged organised crime syndicates are trying to influence Timor-Leste’s government. Seth Wenig/AP

October 8, 2025

Organised crime may be infiltrating Timor‑Leste’s government. One minister is sounding the alarm

Michael Rose, University of Adelaide

Timor-Leste’s government has cancelled all online gambling licenses in response to the allegations, but many are calling for an independent investigation.

A major new compound on Cambodia’s border with Vietnam that appears to have survived the government crackdown. Ling Li

August 8, 2025

Cambodia is vowing to ‘rid’ the country of scam compounds. But we’ve seen several still operating in the open

Ivan Franceschini, The University of Melbourne and Ling Li, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

A nationwide crackdown in July led to 3,000 arrests. But large scam operators seem to have been left untouched.

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