Recently, the crackdown on telecom fraud in Southeast Asian regions such as the Philippines and Thailand has been escalating, with frequent police actions.
Not only are there anti-fraud actions within Southeast Asian countries, but also in previously lenient areas like Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Golden Triangle, where more arrests and even joint law enforcement efforts have begun to emerge.
China's support has been indispensable: since last year, China has frequently exchanged visits with countries severely affected by telecom fraud, and appointed the highly regarded Wang Wenbin as the ambassador to Cambodia, revealing a pattern of successive strategies. Consequently, more and more "bosses" have been brought to justice.
Take a look at Myanmar. Despite the ongoing internal conflict and instability, it did not hinder the arrest of 762 Chinese nationals and over 1000 nationals of other countries on November 18!
Then, on December 2, in Danyang, Myanmar, the local military once again arrested 18 Chinese nationals and 27 Myanmar nationals!
Facing the severe legal and arrest situation, the leaders of telecom fraud groups have demonstrated extraordinary intelligence and extreme determination, each coming up with clever strategies!
Firstly, the husband-and-wife team has become one of their common strategies. Recently in Thailand, a 35-year-old Chinese man named De Min and his Thai wife jointly managed a telecom fraud company, using the Thai identity to cover their illegal activities. They rented venues, paid fees, and managed equipment together, showing perfect coordination.
What's crucial here is the radio equipment, which includes not only illegally imported but also illegally manufactured by this guy himself! He even built illegal communication stations! Truly talented!
This type of "husband-and-wife" team not only shares tasks but also covers for each other, avoiding police pursuit. Unfortunately, the brother who intended to flee to Cambodia was caught at the Thai border. His Chinese wife and Thai wife were also subsequently arrested!
PS: Yes, this guy has two wives, one Chinese and one Thai, playing it cool! Envious.
Apart from the husband-and-wife team, some "bosses" disregard personal safety and venture into the harsh conditions of Africa to conduct fraud activities. Poor hygiene and environment are no obstacles. They vividly demonstrate what it means to endure hardship. Not afraid of rudimentary conditions, armed with two guns, they get to work!
A group of followers ran to Zambia with their boss. They set up a fraud base there, recruiting local Zambian youths to "work."
Language barrier? No problem! They still managed to teach these Zambian youths how to use SIM cards on WhatsApp and Telegram to find targets! And they not only targeted locals in Zambia but also cast their nets to Singapore, Peru, UAE, and other places.
As a result, 77 people were arrested, 22 Chinese were sentenced, and they could only serve their sentences locally! With prison terms of 7-11 years, they probably won't recognize their own mothers when they get out!
To continue "operating," the group even spends a lot of money to update their equipment. In Thailand, some criminal gangs install SIM BOXES to make massive amounts of fraudulent calls, reaching up to 100,000 calls per day, with each device making up to 600 calls daily.
Similarly, this boss also knows the principle of "money talks," hence, he hired a Thai lady to help find properties and install SIM BOXES in Bangkok. Installing one could earn 100,000 Thai Baht (about 20,000 RMB), equivalent to 3-4 months of salary for a Thai person. Maintenance costs are paid separately. Who wouldn't be tempted?!
Moreover, these bosses are also continuously "upgrading their equipment"! A major case occurred in Thailand a few days ago, where the Thai National Police, during an inspection at the Mae Sot border checkpoint and the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, discovered 16 large signal transmission cables! These cables stretched from the Thai side of Mae Sot, across the Friendship Bridge to Myawaddy in Myanmar, spanning about 3 kilometers. The Thai police were baffled, stating it was the largest scale illegal cable interception operation in history!
The purpose of these cables was to provide signals to the parks in Myawaddy, covering hundreds of square kilometers! The network stability was absolutely top-notch!
Now that the Thai police have dug them up, it's likely that the followers are also offline and resting.
No orders, no market? No fear! Find new targets!
The scam of impersonating police to claim involvement in a case and asking for money to be transferred to a "safe account" is something we've all heard of, right?
Now that people in China are no longer falling for it, these bosses immediately shifted their base and developed new markets, then set their sights on India.
The followers disguised as police or judges, using phone calls and video surveillance to create a virtual "arrest" scene, inducing fear in the victims and thus persuading them to transfer substantial assets.
According to Indian media, one such "digital arrest" case was cracked, recovering 1.2 million rupees, which is less than one-twentieth of the actual loss. And this is just one case; there are numerous people who have been defrauded of millions of rupees.
In the Philippines, they were not idle either. During the anti-crime operation from November 1 to 30, 1,159 suspects were arrested,
It's worth mentioning some who chose to operate domestically. They thought their locations were concealed and well disguised, but they were still reported by nearby residents! (Yes, there are many who love to report in China too) Recently, 16 people were arrested in Yanbei!
The current situation is indeed quite severe, and despite the bosses using all their wits, very few can escape unscathed.
Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, had already been "tipped off" early on. Rather than continuing to be a crime-ridden backward country, they prefer to eliminate illegal activities like telecom fraud!
Thailand? They are even planning to legalize gambling, so of course, they won't allow these illegal activities to wreak havoc!
Moreover, international cooperation among police forces has also strengthened, with information sharing and technical investigations gradually cutting off the financial and information channels of these criminal networks. Some bosses even resort to buying gold jewelry domestically to cash out.
For now, followers who run to places like Armenia and Belarus are still relatively safe.
Although the bosses are quite determined to make money, the prospect of long-term safety still seems a bit challenging!
