We must break the cyber-scam networks

Cyber-scam gangs have been luring Bangladeshi victims to countries in Southeast Asia with promises of lucrative jobs, only to hold them hostage and force them to take part in these crimes. Threatened, tortured, and with their passports confiscated, victims of cyber-crime networks spend months in nightmarish captivity. Now the tentacles of these networks have reached Bangladesh. To combat these two sides of this criminal business, Bangladesh needs to devise an effective strategy using technology and by collaborating with local and international organisations and governments of countries where these networks have originated.

The ordeal of Mohammad Monnan Soyal, demonstrates the terrifying consequences of being trafficked by these syndicates. Promised a restaurant job in Cambodia, Monnan ended up being sold to a Chinese-run syndicate, tortured with electric shocks and forced to participate in online fraud.

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The industrialisation of human cognition

Although there is no official record of how many citizens have been trafficked to overseas cyber scam centres BRAC Migration Programme’s data finds around 730 Bangladeshis being rescued, with around 1,800 reportedly awaiting repatriation. But now the menace has reached our shores. Two recent police raids in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar exposed such cyber scam networks, with dozens of foreign nationals being arrested for their alleged involvement. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned that these syndicates are moving to new territories following crackdowns in Cambodia, Laos, and other Southeast Asian countries.

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Save Bangladeshi ‘cyber slaves’ in Cambodia

Starting with the trafficked victims, the government must investigate these crimes, digging into recruitment methods, involvement of local brokers, if any, and gaps in proper screening at the airport. Immigration officials should scrutinise individuals with work visas to countries that are not usual destinations for migrant workers such as Cambodia and Laos. Since these measures may not always prevent trafficking to these countries, our high commission there should be on high alert regarding such networks and provide support to Bangladeshi victims. Our foreign and expatriate welfare ministries must talk to their counterparts in these countries to urge them to continue clamping down on these criminal networks and also ensure that they do not infiltrate into Bangladesh.

While the police operations have been commendable, arresting foreign nationals allegedly involved in all kinds of cybercrime—online marketing fraud, advance payment scams and honey traps—many more such criminal gangs might still be out there.

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Is Bangladesh the next base for Chinese scam networks?

The UNODC has highlighted the need for specialised investigative capacity in digital forensics, financial investigations, and data navigation to examine the contents of the hundreds of mobile phones and computers seized in the raids. The government’s new cyber police unit will be useful only if it has the expertise and resources to pursue these networks and clamp down on them. Arresting only the agents operating at these centres will not be enough and law enforcement agencies must find the bigger players in the operations. Bangladesh must seek cooperation and collaboration from the countries where these syndicates operate.