A fraud factory, fraud park or scam compound is a collection of large fraud organizations usually involved in human trafficking operations, generally found in Southeast Asia and usually operated by a criminal gang. Fraud factory operators lure foreign nationals to scam hubs, where they are forced into modern slavery, to scam internet users around the world into fraudulently buying cryptocurrencies or withdrawing cash via social media and online dating apps.[1] A typical scam is known as "pig butchering". Trafficked victims' passports are confiscated, and they are threatened with organ harvesting and forced prostitution if they do not successfully scam sufficiently. Fraud factory operations proliferated in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and were further aided by the civil war in Myanmar.
- ^ Hunt, Luke (2023-02-07). "As Myanmar Coup Intensifies Regional Human Trafficking, How Will China Respond?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2023-03-16.