Thailand on Wednesday cut off power supplies to areas in Myanmar where scam networks operate, following a public outcry demanding government action to tackle the problem. Parts of Myanmar bordering Thailand, including Myawaddy and Tachilek, are known as havens for criminal syndicates who have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and elsewhere into helping run online scams including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. Such scams have stolen tens of billions of dollars from victims around the world, while the people recruited to carry them out are often tricked into taking the jobs under false pretense and trapped in virtual slavery.
