CHENNAI/BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Indian engineer Stephen Wesley was puzzled when he was asked to take a typing test during an interview for a graphic design job in Thailand – but put it out of his mind when he got the role.
Hours after landing in Bangkok to start work in July, Wesley and seven other new recruits were instead ferried over the border into Myanmar where their phones and passports were taken, and they were put to work on online cryptocurrency scams.
“I spent up to 18 hours a day researching, typing messages, chatting with people on social media platforms, gaining their trust and encouraging them to invest in cryptocurrency,” said Wesley, 29, in a telephone interview.
Thousands of people, many with tech skills, have been lured by social media advertisements promising well-paid jobs in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, only to find themselves forced to defraud strangers worldwide via the internet.
Wesley spent 45 days held captive at a compound in Myanmar’s southeastern border town of Myawaddy, and given a list of about 3,500 names that he had to contact via Facebook, Instagram or dating apps.
“We were trained on how to flirt, chat about hobbies, everyday routine, likes and dislikes. In roughly 15 days, the trust would be built and the client would be willing to take our advice on investing in crypto,” he said.
The cybercrime rings first emerged in Cambodia, but have since moved into other countries in the region and are targeting more tech-savvy workers,…
