Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
---

Title: Satellite Imagery and Phone Data Reveal Romance Scam Centers Still
Expanding Despite Crackdowns

Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/07/24/16921...

Massive mobile device tracking data has exposed the interconnected network of
Myanmar's expanding scam centers, revealing how trafficked workers circulate
between compounds despite February crackdowns. Analysis of 4.9 million
location records from 11,930 mobile devices between January 2024 and May 2025
showed five devices visited all three major compounds -- Yatai New City,
Apolo Park, and Yulong Bay Park -- plus the raided KK Park and Huanya Park
facilities. Workers are forced into romance scams, deceiving victims into
believing they're in romantic relationships before extracting money. A South
Asian man held six months at KK Park worked 16 hours daily conducting these
online deceptions while enduring beatings and electric shocks for poor
performance. Nikkei's investigation combined satellite imagery analysis,
social media posts from Chinese platform Douyin, and open-source intelligence
techniques to document continued construction at eight of 16 suspected sites.
Myanmar authorities deported over 66,000 foreign nationals involved in these
online fraud operations between October 2023 and June 2025.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

---
VRSS v2.1.180528