Recently, Thai netizens on Facebook discovered some shocking real estate advertisements. These ads claim that the Poipet office buildings for rent are not only close to the Thai border but also guarantee the reception of Thai signals, and some ads even show that they are equipped with casino shuttle buses.
Previously, the power outage incident in the Poipet area of Cambodia had drawn strong attention from the Thai public, demanding the government to crack down on tech crimes and completely cut off Thai signals to prevent scam gangs from continuing to commit crimes online. However, some businessmen in Poipet quickly adjusted their strategies and posted information about high-rise office buildings for rent on Facebook, boasting "stable Thai signals" and providing generators to cope with power outages.
These advertisements also list detailed prices, with office rent at 1,500 Thai baht per square meter, reduced to 1,300 Thai baht for rentals over 200 square meters; Thai internet monthly rent at 3,000 Thai baht, Cambodian internet at 2,500 Thai baht, electricity at 10 Thai baht per unit, and free water charges.
Poipet, as a transportation hub on the Cambodia-Thailand border, attracts a large amount of cross-border human and capital flow. Meanwhile, the local casino industry is booming. Since 2019, the Cambodian government has strictly prohibited the operation of online gambling in casinos, and authorities have continuously intensified efforts to combat telecommunications fraud. Nevertheless, some online gambling and telecom fraud groups are still hidden along the Cambodia-Thailand and Cambodia-Vietnam borders, especially with negative news about Poipet casinos involving telecom fraud affecting people from Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and other countries.
Thai netizens are furious about this, as telecom fraud severely endangers the safety of people's property, and the Thai public suffers greatly. For this reason, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin once declared that he would "flatten Poipet telecom fraud" by the end of 2025.
It is worth noting that after Myawaddy in Myanmar suffered power cuts from Thailand and Laos, Thai police intercepted vehicles of a telecom fraud group transferring electronic products, assessing that the criminals intended to transport them to the Cambodia-Thailand border area. In the context of the Lancang-Mekong countries strengthening joint efforts to combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and blocking telecom fraud to prevent "spillover," the Poipet property intermediaries' advertisements featuring "Thai signals," "generators," and "equipped with casino shuttle buses" have been criticized as extremely arrogant!
Some netizens also call on the local authorities in Cambodia to guard the "national gate" and prevent it from becoming a "new base" for gambling and fraud criminals.
