Two-thirds of scam compounds 'bypassed' in Cambodia's crackdown, Amnesty finds

The Mango 2 scam compound in Takeo province, which has been turned into an immigration detention centre. (Supplied: Amnesty International)

Amnesty International has found that a high-profile crackdown on scams in Cambodia "bypassed" almost two-thirds of the operations the NGO had identified, and failed to protect trafficking victims.

The Cambodian government has rejected the report, saying more than 250 operations had been targeted.

Cambodia's high-profile crackdown on scam operations this year triggered a mass exodus from compounds around the country.

However, a new report by Amnesty International has cast doubt on its impact on the illicit industry with the NGO saying authorities had failed to properly dismantle the "vast majority" of scam sites in the country.

It said the government had also failed to identify and support thousands of trafficking survivors subjected to "torture and slavery".

"More than 70 per cent of the compounds identified by Amnesty appear to have been bypassed by the crackdown, while ineffective police interventions at other compounds have missed victims and left them facing horrific abuses — all as the government applauds its own work," Amnesty International's co-regional director Montse Ferrer said.

The Cambodian government has rejected Amnesty's report, saying the crackdown had targeted more than 250 scam operations and "achieved remarkable results".

Most scam operations in South-East Asia feature call-centre-style offices with rows of desks and computers. (Reuters: Roun Ry)

Scam operations have proliferated in Cambodia since the COVID pandemic, with estimates putting the annual earnings in the billions per year.

The operations are typically overseen by Chinese syndicates and run out of fortified casinos or large specially constructed compounds employing thousands of workers in call-centre-style offices.

According to Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams in 2025.

It's unclear how many of those scams originated in Cambodia, however evidence uncovered at a scam centre on the Cambodia—Thai border recently confirmed Australians were among those being targeted.

Hundreds of trafficking survivors from Africa are left stranded in Cambodia amid a widespread crackdown on the country's scam compounds.

In the past, the Cambodian government has been accused of being complicit in the industry and mounting crackdowns just for show.

However, the latest effort that began about a year ago and ramped up in January came amid growing international pressure and reputational damage affecting the