Forced scammer recounts Myanmar ordeal, syndicate killing fellow victim
Published on: Friday, March 08, 2024
By:
FMT, Chia Wan Rou
Bukit Aman criminal investigation department deputy director Rusdi Isa said that 326 Malaysian victims of fake job offers from overseas have been rescued between 2021 and Feb 23 this year. (AFP pic)
PETALING JAYA: Ryan (not his real name) did not expect that accepting a free vacation to Myanmar from a Thai friend on social media last March would end up causing a traumatic change in his life.
Finding himself forced into becoming an online scammer for almost seven months, he also witnessed his captors’ cruelty when they killed a victim who tried to escape from the fake cryptocurrency investment syndicate.
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Speaking to FMT, Ryan, who is Malaysian, admitted that he should have thought of the risks when he accepted the offer from his social media friend, which included a free ticket and “hotel” stay.
However, the moment he stepped foot in Myanmar, he was whisked away to the syndicate’s headquarters.
“I was told to make friends with women on social media platforms, including TikTok, and eventually offer them fake cryptocurrency investment schemes.
“If we failed to hit our targets, we would be beaten or forced to do push ups. We worked without pay, but on rare occasions received less than RM300 if our captors were in a good mood,” he said.
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The 34-year-old, who managed to escape via a tunnel dug by locals, was brought home by the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation last November.
“It was terrifying. I saw other victims brutally murdered by the syndicate. They had attempted to escape but failed,” he said.
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He said that he did not know where was the exact location he was taken to but only that he was in Myanmar.
Another victim known as Max, 30, also said that he was forced to make 150-200 calls a day in search of victims when he “worked” for a fake investment syndicate in Bangkok, Thailand last August.
“If we failed, we would be beaten and forced to do frog jumps. We worked more than 15 hours a day and were not given the RM900 pay we were promised.
“I managed to escape after several months of planning with the help of locals,” he said.
On March 1, Bukit Aman criminal investigation department deputy director Rusdi Isa said that 326 Malaysian victims of fake job offers from overseas have been rescued between 2021 and Feb 23 this year.
He added that 133 such victims are still stranded overseas.
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