“Simple job, high salary”: unveiling the complexity of scam-forced criminality in Southeast Asia

Many victims in Southeast Asia have been trapped in pig-butchering schemes in Cambodia during and after the pandemic. As new forms of scam-forced criminality via trafficking in persons operated by Chinese-related syndicates, traffickers use social platforms to pose as job recruiters and post fraudulent employment opportunities in cyberspace. Unlike other traffickers, however, scam operations target educated victims with exploitable skills and promise attractive salaries for positions in customer service, IT, computer programming, and related industries. Combining content analysis of 10 selected cases (2018–2023) and interviews with 12 police officers in Vietnam, this first mixed-methods qualitative study unveils the nature of scam-forced Vietnamese labour (SFVL) operated by Chinese cyber-enabled crimes (CCEC). Findings demonstrate the existence of structured networks with multiple layers within a single scam syndicate, with the Chinese leading their accomplices, who are either Vietnamese or from other nationalities. There are complex scenarios in the nexus of cyber-trafficking victims and many scam-forced criminality, known as overlap victim-and-offender scams. From Vietnam’s example, this study also calls for further research to focus on the nexus of (1) offenders and victims, (2) human trafficking and scam-forced criminality, and (3) technology and crime.