Inside the Myanmar Scam Factories: Exploitation and Escape

Fraudology Podcast with Karisse Hendrick

Fraudology is presented by Sardine.

In this solo episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick delves into the harrowing story of Billy, an Ethiopian man who was trapped in a criminal enclave in Myanmar and coerced into scamming online victims. Billy's ordeal began when he was deceived by a fake job offer in Thailand and subsequently forced to adopt the identity of a rich Singaporean woman. After leading a strike against his captors, Billy was severely tortured and eventually escaped after his family paid a $7,000 ransom.

Karisse sheds light on the broader context of this criminal landscape centered along Myanmar's eastern border, where scam syndicates exploit hundreds of captives through threats and torture, generating billions of dollars annually. This episode highlights the extreme psychological and economic toll on both the scammers and their victims, drawing connections to larger issues of human trafficking and global cyber fraud. Tune in to learn more about the complex and devastating world of modern-day online scams and forced labor.

Fraudology is hosted by Karisse Hendrick, a fraud fighter with decades of experience advising hundreds of the biggest ecommerce companies in the world on fraud, chargebacks, and other forms of abuse impacting a company's bottom line.

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She brings her experience, expertise, and extensive network of experts to this podcast semi weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.