Phnom Penh is hosting a major international summit on cyber scam networks next week, drawing delegations from more than 20 countries alongside representatives from the FBI and Interpol. Local officials say the gathering will extend well beyond air-conditioned conference rooms, with plans to take foreign delegates straight to the field to inspect several massive scam compounds that have already been raided and sealed off. Local media noted that the event is designed for practical cooperation rather than finger-pointing, acknowledging that no single country can tackle this web of cross-border crime on its own.
The numbers released by officials leading the special operations show just how massive these operations were. During recent sweeps, authorities seized nearly 300,000 mobile phones and uncovered illicit money flows reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. Police inspected over 700 suspect locations across the country, confirming that more than 600 were linked to online fraud, including 86 full-scale compounds. The sustained crackdown has triggered a major shift: around 300,000 foreign nationals packed up and left on their own, more than 20,000 were forcibly deported, and over 2,000 suspects are currently awaiting trial in court.
Cambodian officials also made a point to clarify that they will not copy the approach of a neighboring country, which used anti-scam operations as a pretext to move in and occupy territory.
Out on the streets, the change is already hard to miss. Not long ago, late-night Phnom Penh neighborhoods packed with foreign-oriented rentals were loud with roaring motorbikes and roadside stalls catering to night-shift workers. Today, many of those apartment blocks sit quiet and empty, and the crowds at the night markets have thinned out. The frantic buzz has cooled down, leaving locals sitting at neighborhood tea stalls quietly watching to see just how deep this joint international sweep will go.
