The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has accused Cambodia of possibly harbouring the world’s largest cybercrime networks backed by the ruling elite.
Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said on Thursday the country was being watched as the world’s largest hub of transnational cybercrime, with clear indications that the illicit operations are supported by the country’s state apparatus and powerful people.
Mr Prasert pointed to reports, including one from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), that extensively detail the operations of cybercrime groups, online scams, and call centre gangs.
They are said to operate openly across many locations near the Cambodia–Thailand border, with Poipet, opposite Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo province, serving as a major strategic base.
This region, he said, is critical to criminal networks attempting to infiltrate Thai markets.
Mr Prasert said the immediate results of anti-online fraud operations were evident following a temporary closure of border checkpoints on June 7, when the number of online fraud reports dropped from 1,300 to 900 cases within a day.
Though figures fluctuate, the overall trend shows a decrease when stricter border controls are enforced and Thais are restricted from working in Cambodia.
From March 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, there were 229,000 reported cases of online scams from the country, resulting in financial losses totalling 34 billion baht.
In response, the government launched the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC) on Nov 1, 2023.
From March 1, 2024, to March 2025, authorities handled over 1.18 million cases, froze more than 520,000 bank accounts, and prevented financial losses exceeding 19.9 billion baht, equivalent to a 42% reduction in damages.
Meanwhile, from Nov 1, 2023 to May 31, 2025, the AOC hotline (1441) received 1.77 million calls, leading to the suspension of 680,000 fraud-linked accounts. The reported damages during this period totalled 29.7 billion baht.
“The figures clearly show that border closures and cutting electricity and internet access directly reduce the scale of transnational cybercrime and online fraud.
“While such measures may inconvenience the public, they’ve proven highly effective in preventing significant financial losses,” Mr Prasert said.
He added that the government is expediting efforts under the Cybercrime Prevention and Suppression Act.
These include measures to regulate mule accounts, stricter identity verification for telecom senders (sender name registration), suspension of telecom services used in fraud, new ministerial regulations to ensure victims are reimbursed, development of a centralised digital platform to track cybercrime cases, and finalising protocols for cybercrime prevention centres.