Many people are aware that the Myawaddy region is rampant with telecom fraud. Despite continuous crackdowns by countries like China and Thailand, it remains difficult to completely eradicate.
In addition to Myawaddy, the situation of telecom fraud in Cambodia is also very exaggerated and severe.
Poipet, a small town in northwestern Cambodia, has become a frontier city for Cambodia-Thailand trade due to its geographical location, but in recent years, it has been labeled a "criminal paradise" due to rampant telecom fraud and online gambling.
It is understood that the situation in Poipet is even more exaggerated than in Myawaddy.
The telecom fraud activities in Poipet are similar to those in Myawaddy, also being a highly organized industrial chain.
According to information disclosed by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin, the second floor of a 25-story building in Poipet is used as a telecom fraud den, with casinos behind it using Thai people to register "nominee accounts" for capital flow.
These parks are usually equipped with armed security, and once victims enter, it is difficult to escape, being forced to engage in fraud or pay high "ransoms."
Thai media data shows that in February 2025 alone, 30-40 Thais were lured to Poipet for illegal work daily, but less than 10% were rescued.
The telecom fraud activities in Poipet are also deeply tied to the local gambling industry.
The local casinos in Poipet are legally operated, which also attracts a large number of Southeast Asian gamblers, while the fraud gangs use the casinos as money laundering channels, even transferring funds through cryptocurrencies (such as USDT), with daily money laundering amounts reaching 30 million Thai baht.
This "industrial symbiosis" model has made Poipet a core node for transnational crime capital flows.
The lenient attitude of Cambodian law towards the gambling industry is a breeding ground for telecom fraud in Poipet.
Although the Cambodian government prohibits illegal gambling, Poipet's offline casinos have long existed in a "semi-legal" form, providing natural cover for telecom fraud.
A local businessman bluntly stated that the income from telecom fraud and casinos supports the local economy and even penetrates into official interests, which also leads to heavy resistance to law enforcement.
Telecom fraud gangs also often exploit communication loopholes at the Cambodia-Thailand border, intercepting Thai signals to commit fraud.
In February 2025, Thai police discovered that the signal from a base station near Poipet was illegally strengthened for cross-border fraud calls, ultimately only being contained by cutting off communication lines.
Recently, joint law enforcement between Cambodia and neighboring countries has made some progress.
In March 2025, Cambodian police raided a telecom fraud park in Mondulkiri Province, detaining 258 foreign nationals;
Thai police destroyed a network controlled by Chinese, laundering money for more than 70 telecom fraud gangs, with involved funds flowing globally through cryptocurrencies.
However, these actions are hard to shake the entire criminal network.
The "2025 Poipet Telecom Fraud Clearance" goal previously proposed by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin is more of a political statement.
Although Thailand has applied pressure through measures such as cutting off the internet and electricity, the core issue with Poipet lies in the flaws in Cambodia's legal framework and local governance.
If the Cambodian government lacks the will to reform, external interventions can only treat the symptoms.
Thorough eradication of Poipet's telecom fraud still requires multilateral cooperation.
Although the Mekong Law Enforcement Cooperation Center has played a role in combating drug trafficking and human trafficking, telecom fraud involves more complex issues of technology, funding, and jurisdiction.
Although China, Cambodia, and Vietnam have carried out joint actions in border areas like Bavet, criminal gangs often use law enforcement vacuums to move their dens.
In the long run, Cambodia needs to balance economic interests with the construction of the rule of law.
Poipet is planning to build a new airport and highway; if it transforms into a regular trade hub, it may weaken the living space of the criminal economy.
However, this process requires international community support in technology and funding, and pressure on the Cambodian government to clean up corruption.
The chaos of telecom fraud in Poipet reflects the deep contradictions of transnational crime in Southeast Asia, the conflict between economic interests and the absence of the rule of law, and the game between national sovereignty and regional cooperation.
Although it is difficult to achieve "complete eradication" in the short term, through sustained international cooperation, technological countermeasures, and economic transformation, Poipet's criminal network is expected to gradually disintegrate.
The outcome of this long-term governance battle will determine whether Southeast Asia can shed the label of "criminal paradise" and reshape the regional security and development pattern.
