US sanctions cyber scam networks in Myanmar and Cambodia

Reuters :

The United States imposed sanctions on cyber scam operators in Myanmar and Cambodia on Tuesday, a booming industry the U.S. says stole tens of billions from Americans last year, according to a Treasury Department statement.

Criminal networks have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people into Southeast Asian scam compounds, especially along the Thai-Myanmar border, where they are forced into debt bondage and defrauding strangers online.

“Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said in the statement.

The Myanmar junta’s spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, and neither did a Cambodia government spokesman.