In 2025, a sudden raid shattered the tranquility of a villa in Chiang Mai. Eighteen Chinese people panicked and jumped out of windows to escape, some falling from a height of 8 meters and sustaining serious injuries, others bloodied. This is not a scene from a movie, but a real-life moment when a cyber fraud group collapsed.
They were not drug lords or gang members, but ordinary Chinese people eager to escape the "rat race" and pursue a high-paying way out. However, they mistakenly entered the overseas fraud chain and became the lowest level "push dogs" — doing the hardest work, under the strictest control, in exchange for a false sense of freedom.
This tragedy is not an isolated incident, but a collective phenomenon spreading across Southeast Asia.
1. The "High Salary Myth" Behind the Numbers Trap
"Easily earn twenty thousand a month, with food, accommodation, and plane tickets included" — these ads precisely target young people from third and fourth-tier cities in China. Shattered by the reality of escaping the rat race, they embark on a journey abroad to "strike gold," only to become digital laborers on the fraud assembly line.
The so-called "push dogs" are the lowest-level executors in the fraud gangs, living in concentrated accommodations, their movements controlled, sustaining the fraud ecosystem with scripts and mobile phones. They thought they were going abroad to work, but ended up as "fraud screws."
2. Why has Thailand Become a "Push Dog Paradise"?
Chiang Mai and Pattaya have increasingly become hotbeds for shady industries, with four main reasons behind this:
Light sentencing: China imposes heavy sentences for cyber fraud, Thailand often sentences less than three years;
Slow law enforcement: Case processing drags on for 14 months, enough time to shift grounds;
Geography conducive to hiding: Villas are dense, pretending to be guesthouses to avoid detection;
Weak regulation: Foreign workers are mixed, legal cooperation is inadequate.
The gray industry has rapidly developed, forming a massive "push dog immigration industry chain."
3. Compatriots Deceiving Compatriots, Trust Becomes the Biggest Rift
From recruitment, traffic attraction to operating scripts, the entire fraud ecosystem is almost entirely built and operated by Chinese. The gangs use "compatriot trust" as bait, with everyone from intermediaries to victims deeply relying on the "you know me" mentality.
Data shows that 72% of cyber fraud scripts are in Chinese, and 63% of victims are deceived because they "believe they are dealing with their own people." This is no longer individual behavior, but a complete breakdown of group trust.
4. Only Joint Efforts by China and Thailand Can Break Through the Gray Industry Maze
Fighting the gray industry cannot rely solely on police raids; it requires bilateral cooperation and root cause management:
Permanent cross-border police stations, real-time intelligence sharing;
Establishing legal labor channels, squeezing the living space of illegal intermediaries;
Setting up anti-fraud education at entry and exit points, emphasizing both education and warning.
That "paradise villa" is just the tip of the iceberg. The young people trapped inside are not born criminals, but are driven into a corner by the high salary myth and harsh realities. Changing the situation requires the state to provide more compliant employment platforms, society to open fair upward channels for the youth, and individuals to stay alert and see through the traps of the so-called "overseas fortune-making."
Recently, a type of "smuggling back-carrying" scam has once again attracted attention — cyber fraud gangs use fake luxury goods smuggling tasks to lure young people into overseas fraud parks.
They claim "smuggling famous watches for quick money," using names like "Rolex" and "Patek Philippe," promising "earn 250,000 in three days," but actually step by step guide the targets into overseas parks. The so-called "full package pick-up, experienced guide leading the way," is just numbing and deceiving.
The recruitment threshold is extremely low, only requiring "18-35 years old, physically healthy," even claiming to advance travel expenses, and provide a travel subsidy of 3,000 yuan upon arrival. Many believe it to be true and fall into the trap.
What's more terrifying is that this scam spreads in a pyramid scheme-like "recruit intermediaries for a return" model, forming a dark chain. Once controlled, personal freedom is deprived, plunging into the abyss of cyber fraud, slavery, and violence.
Professionals remind: "High-paying smuggling," "covering travel expenses," "zero risk" and other statements are highly deceptive, and one must remain vigilant. Currently, police forces in multiple regions have issued warnings, urging everyone to be wary of the so-called "overseas high-paying" traps and to protect their life's baseline.
