“Amid an increase in tech-driven trafficking, 2,471 Indians were rescued from cyber scam hubs in Southeast Asia.”
Government of INDIA rescued 2,471 Indian citizen from scam centers in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Lao PDR between January 2022 and May 2025. This was part of a big effort to erase cybercrime and digital human trafficking. Fake job offers and fake online job ads have worked as bait for these people , and then they were tricked into committing cybercrimes like phishing and cryptocurrency fraud. Many victims were sold into slavery through illegal means and then kept in heavily guarded scam compounds. They were forced to run a huge online scam that hurt people all over the world while they were being held in terrible conditions. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) worked together to save people. They got help from governments in southeast asia
Tamil Nadu (273), Uttar Pradesh (247), Maharashtra (224), Kerala (196), and Jammu & Kashmir (151) had the most cybercrime victims . These numbers show that cyber-trafficking has a large effect on many parts of India. The situation got even pathetic in 2024 and early 2025, when reports came out that Indian nationalists were stuck in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region, which is a known center for organized cybercrime. In March 2025, two IAF C-17 planes brought back almost 550 Indians from Myanmar. They worked with Thai and Myanmar authorities in Bangkok to do this. MEA officials say that these operations were part of ongoing diplomatic pressure and high-level coordination to break up the digital trafficking networks and keep Indian citizens safe while they are abroad
Cybersecurity experts identify two key weaknesses that traffickers take advantage of: the unregulated nature of tech recruitment and job seekers’ lack of awareness. Scam centers use social media, phony job portals, and encrypted messaging platforms to entice young people with the promise of lucrative IT or customer service positions. Once overseas, victims are deprived of their documents, subjected to continuous surveillance, and coerced into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes and identity theft. “The new face of organized crime is cyber trafficking,” a senior I4C official stated. “What we’re witnessing is the digital economy being weaponized against vulnerable groups.” Increased monitoring and companionship between India and Southeast Asian countries has resulted from these developments.
In addition to repatriations, the Indian government has launched public awareness campaigns, stricter vetting of overseas job offers, and issued multiple travel advisories warning against unverified employment opportunities in Southeast Asia. The MEA and I4C are also working with digital platforms to flag suspicious recruitment activities. While the recent operations reflect a major diplomatic and security achievement, experts believe that these scam hubs are constantly evolving, and without stronger international frameworks and technology regulation, thousands more may fall victim. India’s rescue efforts mark a significant milestone in fighting tech-driven human exploitation, but the war against cross-border cybercrime is far from over.
