Experts warn online fraud recovery requires psychological support like drug rehabilitation
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Phyo/Htike San (NP News) - February 4
An anti-fraud activist told The Statesman that those involved in online fraud need to be cut out of the business like they are addicted to drugs to avoid continuing the business.
As the government has been vigorously combating online fraud as a national responsibility, some individuals who previously worked in online fraud operations on the Myanmar-Thailand border have returned to the same line of work in areas controlled by armed groups, or migrated to other countries to do the same.
Some of them, who have returned home have been secretly operating online fraud operations from their homes under the guise of training schools, such as mobile scam centers.
This type of activity has been observed in the Anyar region though has not been seen in other places, but it is a situation that needs to be monitored.
“Right now, arrests are being made in China. We heard that death sentences were even imposed. But this is not yet at a level where the main trunk can be completely cut down. The main trunk means they are like a huge tree growing from the trunk itself, maybe the banyan tree at one location has been dealt with, but the lebbek tree at another location is still standing. If cutting down the visible part doesn’t affect the underlying parts, then people who understand how this operation works; how the money flows; how scams are carried out will just continue doing it. The key question is how to completely cut off the source, or how to fully rehabilitate these people so they stop entirely, like quitting heroin. Only if that can be done will online scamming truly calm down. And strong rule of law is absolutely necessary,” he said.
In addition, he said that gambling operators involved in online fraud are targeting students to find new customers, which is also something to be aware of.
“They are even worse than we thought. They can use Viber, Telegram, and so on. They have Facebook accounts. And they are exploiting students again. They play slot games. The students get money. Once they start making money, they are told that if they recruit another person or even ten more, they will receive a bonus of a certain amount. They give them incentives, and those kids get into the scam without even knowing it. They don’t realize that they have become scammers themselves. But what they are doing is scamming,” he explained. –