These days, running a telecom scam is getting a lot harder. Southeast Asia’s scam compounds have been under the microscope for a while, and now even Madagascar way over in Africa has become a major target. Last November, the U.S. Department of Justice set up a dedicated task force, reaching all the way to the Indian Ocean island nation to help local authorities bust 13 scam centers.
Word on the street is that the joint operation made quite a splash, seizing over 3,000 electronic devices and rounding up around 500 people. Among them were more than 30 Chinese ringleaders, who have already been sent back to China. According to local judicial authorities, they are likely looking at two to ten years behind bars back home. The Chinese Embassy there confirmed the operation, noting that a total of 50 suspects have been repatriated, signaling a zero-tolerance stance.
At the end of the day, these syndicates haven't just been holed up in Myanmar or Cambodia—you can find their footprints across Africa and the Middle East. U.S. officials have revealed that cybercrimes of this scale pull in close to $40 billion a year, a huge chunk of it coming from the savings of everyday Americans. Aside from physical compounds on the ground, investigators also took down a Telegram-based crypto money laundering platform. No matter where this trade tries to set up shop now, the net is closing in—making easy money is officially a thing of the past.
