Efforts to shut down online scam centers in Myanmar appear to gain momentum with a visit by a top Chinese official to the border zone ahead of expected large-scale repatriations of workers in the illicit industry. The visit Monday by Liu Zhongyi, China’s vice minister of public security, is part of a stepped-up effort by the three countries to address the online scam problem. Areas of Myanmar bordering Thailand have been havens for criminal syndicates employing an estimated hundreds of thousands of people who help carry out online scams including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. Victims worldwide have lost money to such scams, and the workers were often lured there under false pretenses and found themselves trapped.
