Trapped in a Cambodian scam factory
March 10, 2025
15 min
1497
Full
1,582 of 2,041
Episode 1497 · March 10, 2025
Trapped in a Cambodian scam factory
0:00 / 15:44
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The Messy Conservatives Episodes Around March 10, 2025
Episode 1,582 of 2,041 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
15:44This episodeTrapped in a Cambodian scam factory
Summary
<p>Most Australians have been targeted by a scam attempt, from spam text messages to intricate love fraud. The scams have cost us billions.</p> <p>But behind these attacks is a highly organised and secretive industry – fuelled by human trafficking. </p> <p>It’s believed hundreds of thousands of people are being held against their will in so-called “scam factories” across South East Asia, including in Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines. Many of these factories are run by Chinese-linked gangs operating in border regions.</p> <p>Ben Yeo has seen first-hand how these compounds operate. In early 2024, he was kidnapped and trapped in a Cambodian scam factory. </p> <p>Today, Ben Yeo on how he escaped the scam compounds, and why so many others struggle to get out. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Socials:</strong><strong> </strong>Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a></p> <p><strong>Guest:</strong> Ben Yeo, ambassador for the newly formed Australian International Counter Slavery Alliance (AICSA)</p> <p><strong>Background reading:</strong> <a href="https://scam-factories-life-inside.netlify.app/">Scam Factories</a></p> <p><strong>Photo:</strong> Valeria Mongelli/Getty Images</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>
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