333 Taiwanese job scam victims remain trapped in Cambodia: Cabinet

Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) At least 373 Taiwanese have recently been duped into working for Cambodia-based fraud rings through fake job advertisements, with 333 of them trapped in human trafficking criminal operations in the Southeast Asian country, Cabinet Spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said Thursday.

Amid a surge in online fraudsters luring young adults to Cambodia through false job promises, police and officials recently visited 4,679 households in Taiwan with members aged 20-45 who recently traveled to the country and have not yet returned, to determine who might have fallen for the job scams, Lo said.

The check concluded that 144 people could be held against their will in Cambodia, Lo said, adding that over 200 people reported that their family members or friends had been recruited for such scams from March to July. The total number of Taiwanese lured to Cambodia by job scams added up to 373, of which 40 have returned home, according to Lo.

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