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As the Cambodian government continues its nationwide crackdown to “eliminate” online scam networks by April, job recruitment for the illicit industry is surging on digital platforms, targeting both locals and foreigners, a CamboJA News investigation found.
The surge comes as some suspected scam compounds go dark, while recruiters increasingly target foreign workers already in Cambodia, according to an analysis of hundreds of posts using a detector tool designed by a worker rights group.
The government launched its sweeping enforcement drive, named Operation XXL, earlier this year after heightened scrutiny over the country’s role in harboring scam networks and the high-profile sanctioning and extradition to China of alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi, a former advisor to the prime minister.
Authorities say they have shut more than 200 suspected scam sites since January and detained over 3,500 people, alongside the departure of about 130,000 foreigners believed to have worked or been forced to work in compounds.
But as observers question whether the sweep will last and or if elites linked to suspected scam operations will face investigation, concerns are growing over thousands of job postings circulating on Telegram and TikTok channels tied to the illicit industry. Experts warn the revamped recruitment drive could undermine enforcement and put former scam workers at risk of re-trafficking.
Online Job Ads Target Foreigners, Signal Scam Risks
At the beginning of February, a CamboJA News reporter joined a Telegram group with more than 17,000 members that posts hundreds of job openings in Cambodia each day, many from casinos or call centers. Nearly 4,100 job postings, mostly in English and Khmer, were shared in the first week alone.
Some listings appeared legitimate but hundreds advertised vague roles in Khmer or English such as “Add Contact,” “Typing or Chatting,” “AI or Real Model” and “Call Center.” They often promised salaries well above local rates and specifically sought applicants from South Asian countries and other nations in the region.
Most posts followed the same pattern. The jobs were listed in border enclaves or cities long known as scam hubs including Bavet, Poipet, Sihanoukville, Pailin and Phnom Penh.
Google map links to casinos or nearby compounds in Bavet that have been identified by the regional crime investigative group Cyber Scam Monitor as scam centers were included in job listings as recently as Wednesday.
Several posts stated that employees would not be allowed to leave the premises and that passports would be kept by the company for “safekeeping.” Others said they accepted only foreigners already in Cambodia, even those without passports or identification.
Similar recruitment content was also visible on local TikTok feeds.
After collecting dozens of representative screenshots of these job posts, CamboJA News analyzed them using Scam Job Detector, a digital tool designed by the local worker rights group Central to verify the likelihood of recruitment scams. Central said that while the detector is built to help Cambodians identify fraudulent job offers, it is also compatible with detecting false-flag recruitment into scam centers.
The results indicated a scam risk score of 98%.
Labor Ministry spokesperson Sun Mesa did not directly answer whether the ministry tracks or monitors such recruitment posts. He asked the reporter to share examples of the advertisements and said the ministry’s technical team would review them.
“The Ministry will work on it and will not allow illegal activities to continue,” he said.
General Chuon Sovann, deputy secretary of the Commission for Combating Online Scams, which is spearheading Operation XXL, could not be reached for comment.
Recruiters, Workers Describe Operational XXL Gaps
CamboJA News contacted three individuals recruiting for call centers and “chatting” roles in the Telegram group while posing as a job seeker.
One recruiter said openly that because of the crackdown on scam centers, all offices had paused interviews and would provide updates in the coming days. The other two requested passport copies and a video introduction.
CamboJA News also called a human resources agent who posted recruitment ads on TikTok, identified as scam risks. The posts sought workers of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Indonesian, Japanese and Filipino nationalities for call center and “AI model” positions. The agent, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, said that soon after the enforcement sweep began her agency stopped recruiting Cambodians, although many continued contacting her about online job opportunities.
Few foreigners approached her directly, she said, explaining that most foreign applicants tend to contact agencies from their own nationality.
Asked about the nature of the jobs, she said she had never seen the workplaces. Her role was limited to recruiting candidates and sharing the company location with those selected.
Applicants must understand English, have basic computer skills and complete an English typing test, she added. When asked whether she knew the jobs might be illegal or linked to online scams, she said she did not, adding that she was simply doing her job as a recruiter.
While scam operations in Cambodia, many reportedly run by Chinese syndicates, have been found to rely on transnational trafficking networks, little has been reported about locals working in the industry. The U.N. said in 2023 that at least 100,000 people from dozens of countries were forced or coerced to work in Cambodian scam centers under threat of abuse or death, carrying out romance and investment scams worldwide.
One Cambodian woman, who requested anonymity for privacy reasons, said she began working last year from a rented office in Kampot province persuading people online to gamble, which is illegal in the country. The job, she said, was listed as an “adding contact” worker.
She said financial difficulties within her family had pushed her to seek work, and she was introduced to the job by a friend. She said she did not endure physical abuse and was not confined to the office.
“I know that work is illegal,” she said. “I only worked there for three months, then I stopped. It was miserable, always afraid of running away from police crackdowns.”
Her employment ended after the employers were tipped off that police were planning a raid.
The mass exodus of thousands of foreigners fleeing suspected scam compounds before enforcement last month has led observers to speculate about tips from authorities, some of whom foreign governments accuse of financially benefiting from the operations. Prime Minister Hun Manet has asserted that officials found involved in transnational crime will not go unpunished.
Experts Warn of Re-Trafficking Risks
After reviewing job listings collected by CamboJA News, Montse Ferrer, Regional Director for Asia Pacific at Amnesty International, said the postings overlapped with roles survivors and victims told the group they were forced to perform.
Ferrer said many people trafficked to Cambodia to work in scam centers were recruited under the promise of legitimate jobs such as legal work and other professional roles. Much of the current recruiting is now targeting foreigners already in the country.
Ferrer and other human rights advocates expressed concern over the evolving job ads, saying survivors still in Cambodia remain at risk of being re-trafficked into scam compounds as many face limited prospects or lack passports, in what they call a humanitarian crisis.
She also cited Amnesty International’s findings that compounds change locations to avoid police.
“At the moment, our assessment of the crackdown is that many compounds remain untouched, and the government is failing to recognise victims of human trafficking – contributing to the current humanitarian crisis,” she said.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak did not respond to requests for comment.
Speaking at a briefing earlier this month, he said authorities had deported more than 2,400 foreigners working in scam centers since January, a move that has raised concern among anti-trafficking specialists.
He also said tens of thousands of foreign workers in alleged scam networks across seven provinces had left, without specifying where.
“We have observed that online scams in Cambodia are becoming more manageable and decreasing, but we will continue to monitor it,” he said.
Sokhak later said in the brief that “small groups” have broken off from big scam compounds and continue to exist, adding that the ministry will “look into them.”
