Inside Cambodia’s scam factory: empty rooms, shocking secrets!

More than a year ago, Brother Compound in Cambodia’s capital was sealed tight, wrapped in barbed wire and guarded like a fortress. No outsiders could get close. Now, after a massive police crackdown, the gates are open and the halls are eerily empty. The silence tells a story of a criminal empire that vanished almost overnight.

Inside, a dark ground-floor corridor reveals a whiteboard covered in Mandarin instructions on how to scam victims. The compound, once buzzing, now stands abandoned. The Chinese bosses and workers have fled, leaving behind a chilling paper trail. The evidence points to romance-style scams that build trust before pushing victims into fake cryptocurrency investments.

One step even spells it out: “How to use emotional grooming to set the stage for stock recommendations and co-ordinated buy-ins.” Another details how to force victims to set up digital wallets and exit at a loss. The targets were global. The damage was worldwide.

But the victims were not only the people who lost money. Many workers inside these compounds are trafficked and forced to take part. Upstairs, rows of desks, abandoned computers, and numbered phone pockets show strict control. Workers were banned from using personal phones during shifts. Surveillance cameras watched every move.

A bonus chart on the wall reveals the brutal incentives. The basic salary was listed as US$1,000 (£732). To earn a new iPhone, workers had to generate 300,000 USDT. A gold necklace required squeezing victims for 500,000 USDT. The rewards flowed upward, not to those trapped inside.

Posters warn of harsh financial penalties. Using a personal phone could cost $500 and dismissal. Developing real emotional feelings with clients was forbidden. Sharing real company details was banned. In many compounds, passports are confiscated and workers are unable to leave. Threats of violence hang in the air.

Downstairs, piles of mattresses show workers lived on site. Suitcases stuffed with clothes and photocopies of personal documents were left behind. It is unclear how many fled before police arrived, but it appears some had time to remove equipment.

There have been high-profile arrests. Alleged kingpin Chen Zhi was extradited to China. Thousands of freed workers now queue at embassies, trying to prove they were trafficked victims, not criminals. Many lack passports or money to return home. Some bear visible injuries.

Athena, an Indonesian woman, says she was sold to five compounds. She describes bosses playing with electric shock devices. Tasers, she says, were common. Her account echoes others who describe intimidation and violence as routine.

The industry is vast. It is estimated to generate over $12bn (£8.79bn) a year, about one third of Cambodia’s GDP. In 2024, the US Treasury sanctioned Cambodian senator Ly Yong Phat for facilitating forced labour in cyber scam operations.

The Cambodian government says it is fighting back. It reports 118 locations raided in the last six months of 2025, nearly 5,000 suspects detained.

In Sihanoukville, once a cyber fraud hub, the city looks deserted. But recruiters on Telegram still offer jobs within minutes. In one building, workers were trained to impersonate a real US company, KForce, which later confirmed it had no connection. A staff member even claimed police would warn them before any raid.

Officials deny tolerating abuse and insist they are dismantling networks. Pressure from China and the US is intensifying. Whether Cambodia can truly crush such a lucrative, fast-moving industry remains the burning question.

Key Takeaways

• Empty scam compounds reveal chilling evidence of global crypto fraud.

• Trafficked workers describe intimidation, Tasers, and forced labour.

• Despite raids, undercover checks show new scam centres still forming.

Sky News goes undercover in scam centre - where workers come from across the world