Phnom Penh never runs out of crazy stories. The other day, local cops picked up two young locals for running a scam, and the details are almost too ridiculous to make up. These two geniuses used mobile numbers to set up fake Telegram accounts, complete with the names and profile pictures of the police chiefs from six different districts across the city: Toul Kork, Sen Sok, Chroy Changvar, Chbar Ampov, Por Sen Chey, and Kamboul.
Phnom Penh only has fourteen districts in total, so these guys basically cloned nearly half the top cops in town in one go. Pretty ambitious hustle, right? Over at the local iced coffee stall, everyone was having a good laugh reading about it. These days, scammers are so desperate for cash they are straight-up stealing the faces of real police chiefs. Must have huffed way too much moto exhaust to think that would fly.
The pair have already been handed over to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and are waiting to face the music. Down on the street, people are already saying that next time some high-ranking official adds you on messaging apps looking all official and stern, you better double-check who is actually on the other end.
