New Delhi: Indian authorities have rescued and repatriated about 250 Indian nationals who were lured to Cambodia and forced to carry out illegal cyber work and are working to crack down on those responsible for such fraudulent schemes.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Saturday that of these 250 Indian nationals, 75 were rescued in the past three months.
Reports have suggested that hundreds of Indian citizens were lured to Cambodia with promises of jobs in the IT sector, such as data entry operators, but were then forced to become part of cyber fraud networks.
“We have seen media reports on Indian nationals stuck in Cambodia. Our embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work,” Jaiswal said.
Collaborating closely with Cambodian authorities, the embassy has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians, including 75 in just the last three months, he said.
Several advisories about such scams have been issued by the external affairs ministry and the embassy in Cambodia to alert Indian nationals.
{{/usCountry}}Several advisories about such scams have been issued by the external affairs ministry and the embassy in Cambodia to alert Indian nationals.
{{/usCountry}}“We remain committed to helping all those Indian nationals in Cambodia who seek our support. We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes,” Jaiswal said.
Over the past year, similar scams targeting Indian nationals were also detected in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. Indian authorities helped scores of Indians who were lured to these countries to return home.