Scam centers are in every region of the world. German police partnered with their Balkan and Lebanon colleagues to arrest 21 people in association with a large fraud call center (“German Police”, 2024). Online scam centers tended initially to be in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, but law enforcement agencies worldwide indicate scam centers are spreading to other countries in Southeast Asia (Woollacott, 2023). Also, there is evidence scam centers are taking hold in West Africa (Woollacott, 2023). CEO and founder of Closed Door Security, a company that does attack-driven cyber security assessments, Mr. William Wright, says, “Criminals understand how easy it is to trick people into handing over their sensitive information or clicking on a malicious link, so they understand the money-making opportunities are endless” (Woollacott, 2024). Vanessa Lafolla, financial crimes expert, adds: 

Phone scammers are natural psychologists . . . these are people who really understand what vulnerabilities other people have and they’re looking for those vulnerabilities . . . [to] exploit them and to trap people, make them worried for their safety, for their immigration status, and worried for their family. (Vellani, 2022). 

Because scammers are so well-practiced, once they target the right person for the right kind of scam it is almost too late for that victim (Vellani, 2022).

When the victim finally realizes they have been conned it defines their life as before and after the con. Afterwards, victims blame themselves, cannot forgive themselves and call themselves stupid. They are embarrassed and shamed. It is not uncommon for people to lose their life savings or hundreds of thousands of dollars which catapults them into bankruptcy and poverty. They postpone retirement or selling their home. One man, despite working three jobs and selling his mother’s home and belongings, knows he will not recover financially (Vellani, 2024). Family and friends look at the mark as a pariah and a criminal. They are excommunicated. The damage is beyond financial, it affects one’s mental health and there is a high emotional cost. 

The greatest price is when the victims of financial scams commit suicide. One Singapore news outlet references two cases in one article. One man who had lost his life savings after falling for a tech support scam ended his life (Sun, 2023). A woman had fallen for a government official impersonation scam, and she handed over all her money to the scammers before she realized she was a victim and made a police report. Subsequently, she committed suicide (Sun, 2023). Cases like this occur all over the world. An 82-year-old grandmother from San Francisco was so devastated by a sweepstakes scam where she was told she won money but needed to pay fees and taxes, eventually, committed suicide after she lost all her life savings (ABC, 2018). These heartbreaking stories are difficult to hear but they continue to happen over and over again all around the world.

After hearing heartbreaking, tragic stories about victims of scams, the majority of society cannot sympathize with anyone whose job is scamming people out of money. First Orion, a telecommunications company, according to their blog conducted interviews of former scammers. They found several “scammers said they feel bad about conning people out of money, but [they] have to take compromising jobs just to make ends meet” (First Orion, n.d.). Alternatively, other scammers said they think it’s fun scamming victims. Scammers are aware they are stealing from people, but likely care very little because the victims are foreigners.

Sometimes the scammers are victims of modern slavery. They are captured by human traffickers under the pretext they have been hired for a legitimate job and forced to work in scam call centers. In 2023, Ugandan nationals were taken to Dubai then Thailand and Myanmar, where they were confined under armed guard and taught to defraud banks (Woollacott, 2023). If an individual is not good at their scamming job they may face torture (First Orion, n.d.). Vellani (2022) presented verified photos of a beaten and tortured Vietnamese man who was not good at his scamming job. According to First Orion (n.d.), one scammer had his documents apprehended until he completed at least 30 days with the company. Another scammer was forced to work in the scam call center, and if he tried to leave, his bosses threatened to come after him (First Orion, n.d.). 

The crimes remain unreported. Workers do not go to the authorities because often the authorities are paid off by the scam companies to look the other way. (First Orion, n.d.). People who are perpetuating the scam centers are at low risk of accountability. It is lucrative and straightforward. Even if the scammer is held under duress, they are still detained, arrested, charged and convicted once they reach their home country (Vellanni, 2022). It is adding more drama to an already difficult situation. 

References

(8 April 2022). Fraud fighters: Hackers expose illegal call centres and phone scams. (Season 49, Episode 17). [Tv Series episode]. In N. Vellani (Executive Producer), Marketplace. Canadian Broadcast Company.  https://youtube.com/watch?v=iii_MtlKOrs. 

(9 Feb. 2024). Investigating the con that combines romance scams and crypto fraud. (Season 51, Episode 11). [Tv Series episode]. In N. Vellani (Executive Producer), Marketplace. Canadian Broadcast Company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDg2z8QPuWc.

ABC 7 News. (22 Feb. 2018). 82-year-old grandmother commits suicide after falling for scam. abc7news.com. https://abc7news.com/scams-targeting-the-elderly-popular-sweepstakes-old-woman-commits-suicide-after-getting-scammed/3126945/. 

DW. 02 May 2024. German police bust Europe’s ‘largest’ scam call center. dw.com.

https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-bust-europes-largest-scam-call-center/a-68980954.

First Orion. (n.d.). Inside the world of scam call centers.[web log]. Retrieved from https://firstorion.com/scam-call-centers/.  

Sun, D. (14 Jan 2023). The painful cost of scams: Suicide and self-harm. The Straits Times. 

Woolacott, E. 8 Dec. 2023.Worldwide sting busts cyber-scam centers manned by human trafficking victims. forbes.com. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2023/12/08/worldwide-sting-busts-cyber-scam-centers-manned-by-human-trafficking-victims/.