The Cyber Crime Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police has issued an urgent advisory, warning job seekers about the growing threat of ‘cyber slavery’ in Southeast Asian countries. According to the police, individuals from Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, and Delhi are being lured by fraudulent agents with promises of lucrative job offers abroad. These fake agents send unsuspecting victims to countries like Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos on tourist visas, only to trap them in forced cybercrime operations.

Once the victims arrive, organized gangs operating in these countries confiscate their passports, effectively trapping them. The victims are then coerced into committing various forms of cyber fraud, including digital arrest scams, FedEx frauds, investment schemes, and dating scams, just to survive. To return home, they are extorted for thousands of Chinese Yuan.

The Airports Authority of India has responded to the crisis by placing digital displays and standees at airports to raise awareness of the risks of ‘cyber slavery’ for travellers heading to these countries. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre has also reported that 26 individuals have been rescued and brought back to India from Cambodia, while many others remain trapped.

From January 2022 to November 2023, over 1,285 passengers from Tamil Nadu (part of a larger group of 39,735 Indian travellers) who went to these Southeast Asian nations on tourist visas have not returned. Many of them are feared to be victims of cyber slavery, forced to engage in cybercrimes that target people back in India.

The police have urged job seekers to verify the authenticity of recruitment agencies before accepting any overseas employment offers. Individuals can check if an agency is registered on India’s emigration portal (https://emigrate.gov.in), which also lists unregistered and illegal recruitment agencies involved in such scams.

This crackdown on cyber slavery aims to prevent more Indian citizens from falling victim to these criminal networks while raising awareness about the dangers of unverified job offers abroad.

Chennai, 10 Aug, 2024