Across Southeast Asia, vast compounds have emerged as the nerve centers of large-scale online fraud, run by transnational crime syndicates with links to ethnic Chinese networks. Their targets are ordinary people across Asia and beyond, ensnared in scams that drain savings and devastate families. But inside the compound walls are trafficked workers—lured under false promises of legitimate employment, then held captive in conditions of digital servitude. So what is the true extent of this shadow economy? How have these scam compounds become embedded in local communities and cross-border networks? And as regional governments attempt crackdowns, what happens to the exploited workers once the compounds fall? Researchers into the intersection of organized crime and technology Dr Ivan Franceschini from Asia Institute and Ling Li from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice join host Sami Shah to examine the reach and ramifications of Southeast Asia’s scam compounds.
An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com. Transcript forthcoming.
A recent book on the subject by Ivan Franceschini, Ling Li and Mark Bo: Scam: Inside Southeast Asia’s Cybercrime Compounds, Verso, 2025.
Image: Buildings in the Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy Township, Karen State (Myanmar), along the Moei River. Credit: Angshu2193/WikiImages.
