Julian Morgans

Hey, Julian Morgans here. I'm the host of Scammerland, but I'm also the host of a weekly show called What It Was Like. And the basic idea is that every episode I talk to someone who has lived through an extreme event. So think cults, serial killers, ghost stories, Princess Diana's paparazzi, Kurt Cobain's manager. And in all cases, you'll find out what it was like to be there.

Hey, Julian Morgans here. I'm the host of Scammerland, but I'm also the host of a weekly show called What It Was Like. And the basic idea is that every episode I talk to someone who has lived through an extreme event. So think cults, serial killers, ghost stories, Princess Diana's paparazzi, Kurt Cobain's manager. And in all cases, you'll find out what it was like to be there.

In fact, Scammerland actually began as an episode on what it was like. So if you're enjoying this, you're probably going to love our other show. That's What It Was Like on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

In fact, Scammerland actually began as an episode on what it was like. So if you're enjoying this, you're probably going to love our other show. That's What It Was Like on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Hahaha.

Hahaha.

Hey, I'm Julian Morgans, and you're listening to Scammerland. We established in the last episode how most online scams, they're being run by modern slaves living inside a network of walled compounds through Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. And you'll recall, we just followed a Ugandan guy named Q as he was smuggled into Myanmar and taken to a notoriously brutal scammer farm known as Taichung.

Hey, I'm Julian Morgans, and you're listening to Scammerland. We established in the last episode how most online scams, they're being run by modern slaves living inside a network of walled compounds through Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. And you'll recall, we just followed a Ugandan guy named Q as he was smuggled into Myanmar and taken to a notoriously brutal scammer farm known as Taichung.

But we want to illustrate the scale of this issue, the way that Q's experience is being mirrored through Southeast Asia. bringing automation and scale to what used to be a cottage industry. And in this episode in particular, we're going to show you the world of scamming from the perspective of scammers. Welcome to Scammerland. So we're going to come back to Q from the previous episode.

But we want to illustrate the scale of this issue, the way that Q's experience is being mirrored through Southeast Asia. bringing automation and scale to what used to be a cottage industry. And in this episode in particular, we're going to show you the world of scamming from the perspective of scammers. Welcome to Scammerland. So we're going to come back to Q from the previous episode.

But right now, let's head to the Philippines to meet another woman named Katalia. Like Q, Catalaya was also a victim of human trafficking. And I think her story is important because by hearing different perspectives of abduction and the work they're expected to do, we get a fuller picture of how this industry works. I wanna show you how formalized it all is.

But right now, let's head to the Philippines to meet another woman named Katalia. Like Q, Catalaya was also a victim of human trafficking. And I think her story is important because by hearing different perspectives of abduction and the work they're expected to do, we get a fuller picture of how this industry works. I wanna show you how formalized it all is.

These groups running the scammer farms, Chinese organized crime, they've got scamming down to a science. It's become an industrialized process, just like any other business at scale. And to make it run smoothly, they need to recruit people with specific skill sets. So they're recruiting people out of Africa, like Q, to be laborers, to just do the grunt work of initial outreach.

These groups running the scammer farms, Chinese organized crime, they've got scamming down to a science. It's become an industrialized process, just like any other business at scale. And to make it run smoothly, they need to recruit people with specific skill sets. So they're recruiting people out of Africa, like Q, to be laborers, to just do the grunt work of initial outreach.

But they also need workers with really good English skills to carry the victims across the finish line. And that takes us to the Philippines. And the Philippines was a US territory, so a lot of high school classes, they're still taught in English, which is leaving many Filipinos with like a slight American accent.

But they also need workers with really good English skills to carry the victims across the finish line. And that takes us to the Philippines. And the Philippines was a US territory, so a lot of high school classes, they're still taught in English, which is leaving many Filipinos with like a slight American accent.

And that's why the Philippines has become a global hub for Western call centers, but it's also become a target for scammer farm recruiters. Actually, I should point out that some Filipinos travel to places like Myanmar intentionally to work at scam centers. But Katalia, she wasn't interested in this life. She didn't want to be a scammer.

And that's why the Philippines has become a global hub for Western call centers, but it's also become a target for scammer farm recruiters. Actually, I should point out that some Filipinos travel to places like Myanmar intentionally to work at scam centers. But Katalia, she wasn't interested in this life. She didn't want to be a scammer.

In fact, she'd studied criminology and she actually wants to be a police officer.

In fact, she'd studied criminology and she actually wants to be a police officer.