Thailand intensifies crackdown on transnational fraud along borders

Thai authorities claim to have achieved success in combating transnational fraud in border areas, stating that the number of crimes and resulting financial losses have fallen sharply. However, they warn that international cooperation is essential to completely eradicate the problem. The Royal Thai Police said on Monday that the number of fraud cases reported this month at various operational centres, particularly along Thailand’s borders with Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, fell 69.2 per cent compared to October last year, with financial losses decreasing by 87.3 per cent. They stated that more than 29,300 fraudsters, comprising both Thai and foreign nationals, have been arrested or had arrest warrants issued against them over a nine-month period.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who took office in September and established an anti-cyber fraud centre the following month, told reporters that suppressing technology-related crimes, call centre fraud, and other types of scams is a top government priority. He said his administration is promoting cooperation among government agencies to improve investigation efficiency. The more than 29,300 fraudsters apprehended include a Japanese man suspected of leading a call centre scam in Cambodia, who was detained at an airport near Bangkok on 7 June. Another Japanese man, suspected of remotely supervising call centre staff in Cambodia from Bangkok, was deported to Japan on 16 June.

Several compounds where fraud was conducted in border areas formerly operated as casinos but were repurposed as bases for crime syndicates after the COVID-19 pandemic. Thailand began tackling these fraud compounds in early 2025 under the previous government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, cutting electricity, internet access, and transport routes to the compounds, as well as shutting down illegal websites and freezing suspicious bank accounts. Those working in the fraud compounds came from various countries, many lured there under false pretences by criminal syndicates and unable to escape. The fraud compound at O’Smach Resort in Cambodia, near Thailand’s Chong Chom area, was believed to have operated with many forced labourers, though the exact number was unclear. The compound was destroyed by Thai artillery fire in December after the border area became a strategic location during their border conflict last year. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people were estimated to be involved in online and telephone fraud at the compound, the Thai military said, adding that warnings were given before the attack and no one was injured, while all workers fled further into Cambodia.

The ruins of the former resort town, consisting of about 160 buildings, 29 of which were headquarters for the scammers, were shown to the media in March and April. One building contained human-sized cubicles used as soundproof rooms for fraudulent phone calls, and rooms lined with desks and computers along corridors. Another room resembled a cell where forced labourers were confined as punishment. Several other rooms were made to look like police or public security offices in various foreign countries such as China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, with police uniforms worn by the workers lying on the floor. A military officer guiding journalists explained that these fake police offices were used to deceive people via video calls, convincing victims they were speaking with legitimate authorities to obtain their money.

According to a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released in February, trafficked workers have fuelled a booming online fraud industry in Southeast Asia, with profits estimated at tens of billions of dollars per year. The report also stated that an estimated 300,000 people from 66 countries are involved in fraud operations scattered across the region. Suspicious kidnappings linked to the fraud industry continue to come to light. In the latest case, a female university student from Hong Kong was tricked into travelling to Thailand on 1 June by scammers posing as foreign law enforcement officers who accused her of involvement in criminal activity, according to Thai investigators. She was ordered to stage her own kidnapping and record a video of herself, which was then sent to her family by the scammers with a ransom demand of 3 million Hong Kong dollars. According to Thai officials guiding the media tour, scam headquarters appear to remain active elsewhere in the region, underscoring that a single country lacks the power to eradicate these transnational criminal organisations. Maratee Andamo, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said international cooperation is necessary to seriously suppress the problem, which impacts the economy and image not only of Thailand but also of other ASEAN countries.