United Nations report: Over 220,000 people in Myanmar and Cambodia are involved in telecommunications fraud, with Northern Myanmar becoming a global hotspot for scams.

Recently, a report released by the United Nations indicates that the issues of online scams and illegal gambling activities are increasingly severe in countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia. According to statistics, over 120,000 people in Myanmar are forced to engage in telecommunications fraud and illegal gambling activities, while more than 100,000 people in Cambodia are involved. Data from Interpol shows that this crime pattern is not limited to Southeast Asia but has also attracted young men and women from Asia, East Africa, South America, and Western Europe to enter scam parks.

A report from the China Institute of International Studies points out that the northern region of Myanmar has become a global hotspot for telecommunications fraud. The report analyzes that the new gambling law enacted by Myanmar in 2019 has accelerated the expansion of the online gambling industry in northern Myanmar, providing an ideal "breeding ground" for criminal groups. With the aid of internet technology, the economy in northern Myanmar has gradually become dependent on telecommunications fraud and online gambling, forming an abnormal economic structure supported by these activities.

The Myawaddy area on the Myanmar-Thailand border is currently known to have hundreds of scam parks, and there are over 1,000 scam groups in northern Myanmar, with more than 100,000 people involved in telecommunications fraud daily. In some areas, such as northern Myanmar, eastern Myanmar's Wa State, and Kokang, even school buildings are rented out to telecommunications fraud companies, further fueling this illegal industry.

Investigations show that many criminals believe that compared to the high-risk drug trafficking, telecommunications fraud and online gambling have the characteristics of "low risk, high profit." Especially in regions like Wa State, the telecommunications fraud industry has become an important part of the local economy and has even caused severe dependence. This situation has led to rampant scam activities, continuously increasing the difficulty of social governance.

The international community calls for strengthening the crackdown on northern Myanmar and other high-incidence areas of scams and cutting off the economic chains of telecommunications fraud groups through international cooperation to curb the spreading trend of this issue.