Phnom Penh police arrested a woman identified by the alias SJN on Tuesday in a crackdown on high-tech crime. Working under the coordination of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor’s office, investigators targeted the woman after discovering she had sold her phone number and bank card details to a social media romance scam syndicate.
The fraudsters used her accounts to collect money from victims of online love scams, after which the woman received a cut of the proceeds. She is currently being held in police custody while awaiting further legal proceedings. Local authorities have issued a reminder urging the public never to hand over personal phone numbers and bank accounts to strangers, warning that doing so can make individuals unwitting accomplices to crime and land them in court.
In the alleyways and neighborhoods of Phnom Penh, people at roadside tea stalls and coffee shops have also been talking about these "pig-butchering" scams lately. Locals generally agree that scammers are coming up with new tricks all the time, and while renting out a bank card or selling a phone number might look like a way to make quick cash, it usually ends up ruining you—definitely not worth it.
