Sihanoukville, a coastal city once seen as a key economic hub in Cambodia, is now known for something else.
In recent years, international and local reports have described it as a “hub for online scams,” linking the city to fraud, human trafficking and organized crime. Sihanoukville became a central node for the country and region’s burgeoning scam industry. The United Nations in 2023 estimated that more than 100,000 people from dozens of countries had been forced or coerced into scam operations across Cambodia.
