Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Daniel James, and you're listening to 7am.
Chapter 2: What was discovered inside the Cambodian scam compound?
Earlier this year, authorities found something extraordinary inside a Cambodian scam compound, a fake Australian federal police office. There were Australian flags, AFP logos, and desks staged to look official, all part of a six-storey compound used by scammers impersonating police forces from around the world.
It was a reminder that the scam messages Australians receive are often connected to a far more sophisticated and exploitative criminal industry. New figures show Australians reported more than $2 billion in scam losses last year. And a recent UN report has detailed how people are trafficked into scam centres, held against their will and forced to target strangers online.
Chapter 3: How did Ben and his wife end up in a scam factory?
Today we're bringing you an episode from last year with Ben Yeo. In early 2024, Ben and his wife were kidnapped and trapped inside one of these Cambodian scam factories. This is the story of how they escaped and why so many others can't. It's Sunday, June 7. This episode was originally published in March 2025.
Well, first of all, thank you again for coming on the show and for talking to me.
Chapter 4: What was the initial job offer that led to their kidnapping?
I really appreciate it.
You're welcome. You're welcome. Sorry, I'm a bit nervous this morning.
No, that's okay. It's very understandable. So to begin with, had you ever heard about scam compounds before?
I have heard of these compounds, but I didn't know that it was so widespread. I didn't know there was like a few hundred thousand people working in the industry there.
Chapter 5: What was the shocking reality upon arriving at the compound?
So not until I actually got into one myself.
Yeah. And I suppose you would never have thought something like this would happen to you.
Oh, of course. Never.
Ben's ordeal started in early 2024, shortly after he got married. Ben's Malaysian and his new wife is Filipino, and they were looking for a change in scenery in a third country. Until that point, Ben was a freelance business consultant who had worked across Southeast Asia. But after that work began to dry up during COVID, he was open to something new.
Chapter 6: How did Ben and his wife cope with their captivity?
So what happened was me and my wife, we decided to, you know, go to Cambodia to start our life over there. And so my wife, she was a croupier. She's a casino dealer. She does like blackjack and poker. And she got a friend who introduced her to this job posting on a human resource agency.
Chapter 7: What tactics were used by scammers to exploit their victims?
One of the ads was croupier and the other says business development agency. So we responded to the ad. They did a first interview, second interview. They were quite convincing. They asked all the right questions, which a normal HR would ask, you know, and they talk about our salary and stuff like that.
Ben also looked into the company who owned the casino and saw they had all the right government approvals and licenses. There was nothing to suggest the job wasn't real.
I felt hopeful. At that point, you know, I thought we were going to a country which I know, I'm familiar with, I speak the language. So, you know, I was kind of confident before leaving for Cambodia. We gave up the house, you know, I sold my car.
Chapter 8: How did Ben manage to escape from the scam factory?
We thought that we would be there for a couple of years, you know.
Okay, and so then what happened next?
So we got on a plane, we flew down to Cambodia. They told us there would be a pickup at the airport. And when they picked us up, drove to this place called Bavet, which is about three to four hours drive away. It's just right at the Vietnam border. So another reason why we felt that the job was real was because Bavet is a special economic zone for casinos.
But when we got to Bavette, they brought us to a compound which is behind the casinos. The arches to the compound was about two stories high, barbed wire. It was heavily guarded, just like a prison, you know. So they told us before going in, they told us it was just like the staff quarters, you know. And so we believed them and we walked in just like that.
And when the door closed on us, they brought us to our quarters. And from there, they told us that the job that you applied for, it was just a lie. You are now in a scam camp. And if we want to go home and we want to leave, we have to pay them to the tune of 10,000 US dollars.
That must have been a very frightening moment for you and for your wife to realise that you couldn't leave the compound.
Yes, it was quite shocking and we couldn't sleep for about three days, I think. We tried to take all of it in, you know, watch how other people behave.
Were other people also tricked like you?
I think half of them at least were scammed into the compound. But most of them was from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal. Some of them applied as a nurse, some of them applied as teachers, I think engineers, IT workers. Most of them didn't have a choice. They are, most of them are stuck there, you know?
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