UN reports scam centers in Timor-Leste
BANGKOK—A suspected scam call operation and a suspicious network of companies were discovered with links to a new free trade zone in the nation of East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, according to a report published on Thursday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The report comes as scam centers have proliferated across Southeast Asia and spread across the world, and highlights the ability of the criminal enterprises to relocate as some governments in the region launch crackdowns.
Scam centers in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have drawn global attention for running notorious romance scams, where a worker poses as an attractive young woman to lure targets into making false investments. They are also found in the Philippines and Laos, and UNODC warned in April that scam centers have appeared in Latin America and Africa.
In East Timor, police raided a suspected scam center in late August in the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse, detaining more than 30 foreigners for working without permission.
The people detained came from Indonesia, Malaysia and China, but the UNODC report said it is unclear if they had been trafficked.
The nation of East Timor, is one of the poorest in the world, and has a population of 1.3 million. It is due to join the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations called Asean in October this year.
Last year, the Philippines launched a nationwide crackdown in which the government deported thousands of workers found in scam centers.
In February, Thailand, Myanmar and China launched a joint action that saw thousands of workers released. However, the centers themselves have continued to operate.
