Indian workers rescued from digital job scams in Southeast Asia

India’s government says it has rescued about 130 Indians who were forced to work in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia after they were lured by agents who had offered well-paying job opportunities in the information technology sector that turned out to be fake.

Arindam Bagchi, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, said on Friday the rescued Indian workers had been held captive and forced to commit cyber-fraud for companies engaged in digital scamming and forged cryptocurrencies.

The companies appeared to be operating through agents in Dubai, Bangkok and some Indian cities and were recruiting Indian workers through social media advertisements for fake, highly lucrative jobs in Thailand, he said.

Many of the workers were taken illegally across the border into an area of Myanmar that is difficult to access because of the local security situation, Bagchi said.

He said nearly 50 workers have been brought back to India from Myanmar, while some others were still in police custody in Myanmar for questioning because they entered the country without visas.

He said 80 other Indian workers have been rescued from Cambodia and Laos.

Agencies