October 2023
Like many people around the world, 32-year-old Jun Hao lost his job during the COVID 19 pandemic. Desperate to find another job, he came across an ad on social media for a role in customer service. The job looked like a perfect fit.
After a one-month online interview process, he was excited to be offered the role. Jun Hao’s new employers even paid for his flights to Cambodia!
It wasn’t until he arrived at his new office that Jun Hao realised he was in trouble. Jun Hao was locked in a large compound surrounded by barbed wire with thousands of other people.
“Once [the boss] locked the door, I realised that I had been cheated to come to work and that I can't go anywhere…The boss said, he will keep my passport for ‘safety concern’.”
Jun Hao was trained and forced to conduct ‘romance scams’, also known as ‘pig butchering’ - a method which involves building fake romantic relationships with people online and then convincing them to invest in a fake crypto platform.
Jun Hao and the other victims had daily targets, working late into the night until they were met. If a worker was caught yawning 3 times in a day, traffickers would deduct $50 USD from their pay.
Worse still - if victims complained, refused to work, or tried to reach out for help, they were beaten and punished:
“If I didn't hit the target, I knew the boss would beat me. I thought I might die because I don't want to scam any innocent people."
“I was shocked and scared. The boss punished the people in front of us...They were using the electric baton to shock until people fell down.”
Some workers were locked inside dark rooms for three days or longer. If a worker was deemed not valuable enough or too much trouble, they’d be trafficked to a different compound.
Jun Hao heard this cycle would repeat until the worker was trafficked on the black market for their organs, or even killed. Dangerous as it was, attempting to escape seemed like the only way out.
"One guy jumped out from the fifth floor. Even with broken legs, he got up and escaped."
Fearful for his life, Jun Hao attempted to reach out to a charity for help. He got as far as sharing his location and sending them a copy of his passport as evidence.
But to his despair, Jun Hao’s supervisors discovered his escape attempt. Hope seemed lost when he was trafficked to another compound, prevented from going outside.
If he ever wanted to leave, the traffickers demanded a payment of $11,000 - money Jun Hao didn't have, nor could he ever earn.
Risking further punishment, Jun Hao desperately reached out to IJM on social media: “Once I reached out to IJM, I also thought that was a very small chance… I had been betrayed once at the first company.”
But his bravery paid off. IJM reached out to the Cambodian police for intervention and finally, Jun Hao was brought to safety.
“I am really thankful to the IJM team who helped me. If not, maybe I am still stuck there.”
After being reunited with his family, today he’s back in Thailand and has found an online customer service job.
Now, Jun Hao is using his voice to bring global attention to the issue of forced scamming and is working with IJM to bring about justice reform.
“I think this kind of thing will be forever in my memory. It was really terrible.
“I need to speak out because I need to let the world know that this kind of thing happens… This kind of darkness happens every day.”
IJM is working with government agencies and partners in South East Asia to stop forced scamming.
To find out more about forced scamming, you can watch this new BBC Three documentary, 'Hunting the Catfish Crime Gang' from Monday 23rd October. Also available on BBC iPlayer.