300 Indians forced into cybercrime in Myanmar

Over 300 Indian nationals are stuck in Thailand and Myanmar working in jobs that are forcing them into cybercrime. These Indian nationals went to Thailand on the pretext of jobs with good pay. However, they ended up getting stuck with entities that conduct cybercrime. The Indian nationals have been approaching state as well as central govt to assist them in escaping from the hostage-like situation. Also Read – Truecaller launches improved version of app for Apple iPhones

A report has detailed some of the experiences of these Indian IT workers who are stuck in this situation. The report claims that these workers were first invited to Thailand for IT jobs and later they were taken to Myanmar as hostages. The workers are then forced to work for over 15 hours a day. If they refuse to work, the employers are beaten up and even electrocuted. Also Read – Loan App Scam: Google removes over 2000 fraud personal loan apps from Play Store

The workers are refraining from giving out details about their identity as they fear consequences if they get caught. Currently, leaders from different political parties are pushing the state and central govt to help these Indian nationals. The Indian embassy claims to be working with both Myanmar and Thailand authorities to bring back the victims of the scam. Also Read – Electricity Bill Scam: How innocent people are being tricked into paying fraud bills

The workers have been kept in the Myawaddy region which does not come under the jurisdiction of Myanmar. The area is mostly controlled by ethnic armed groups, according to the report. Some of the victims have identified their captors as Malaysian Chinese. BGR