Nearly 2,000 Indian nationals are currently involved in cyber scam-related activities in Myanmar’s Myawaddy town, a region located close to the border with Thailand.

The area is ruled by armed militia groups.

The Indian nationals, many of whom were lured by fake job offers, are being forced to carry out online fraud targeting victims across India and the US, reported The Times of India.

Authorities have rescued some of the victims but the true scale of the scam is expected to be large.

According to reports, several of them are still not aware of the dangers they face.

Embassy Warns

While consular officials are working to evacuate Indian citizens, the embassy has warned that those willingly participating in these scams are not victims but criminals, the Indian newspaper reported.

In a statement, the Indian Embassy in Myanmar last year said, "There has been an increase in the incidents of Indian nationals falling victim to the international crime syndicates active in Myawaddy region on Myanmar-Thailand border."

"We would re-emphasize the importance of adhering to our advisories on the subject for not taking any such job offers without consulting the respective Indian Embassies," the statement said.

The statement further warned: "In view of the above, it is reiterated that lndian nationals should not accept such job offers floated through social media platforms or other unverified sources. lndian nationals are advised to check/verify the credentials of foreign employers through the lndian Embassy located in that country."

Missing Indians

Quoting official data, Indian newspaper Business Standard reported that 29,466 Indians, who travelled to Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, between January 2022 and May 2024 on visitor visas have not returned.

200 Chinese Nationals Repatriated

A group of 200 Chinese telecom fraud suspects returned to China, under the supervision of police, on Thursday. They were repatriated from Myawaddy.

The 200 Chinese citizens are the first group of telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Myanmar to China, reported news agency Xinhua citing the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Benedikt Hofmann, acting regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, told Xinhua that telecom fraud has expanded rapidly in terms of the number of victims, geographical reach, and financial losses.

The UNODC estimates that annual economic losses from such scams in East and Southeast Asia range between 20 billion and 40 billion U.S. dollars.