April 1, 2024 at 10:33AM
Indian government rescued and repatriated 250 citizens from Cambodia who were coerced into cyber scams. This follows reports of over 5,000 Indians forced into “cyber slavery.” Similar efforts to free victims in China and the Philippines have been undertaken. Criminals run pig butchering scams, gaining trust under the guise of romance to steal funds. There are concerns over cryptocurrency wallets being used for illicit transactions, and threat actors exploiting Ethereum’s CREATE2 function to bypass security measures.
Key Takeaways from the Meeting Notes:
1. Indian government has repatriated 250 citizens from Cambodia who were coerced into running cyber scams, highlighting the issue of human trafficking-fueled fraud on an industrial scale.
2. The scams involved luring victims with employment opportunities but forcing them into illegal cyber work, including online fraud schemes and pig butchering scams related to cryptocurrency businesses.
3. The scams also included exploiting a function in Ethereum called CREATE2 to bypass security measures and gain unauthorized access to funds, as reported by Check Point and Scam Sniffer.
4. Research from Chainalysis revealed that crypto wallets associated with one of the pig butchering gangs operating out of Myanmar recorded close to $100 million in crypto inflows, including ransom payments made by the families of trafficked workers.
5. Threat actors are using romance scamming tactics to gain victims’ trust under the illusion of a romantic relationship before stealing their funds.
The meeting notes highlight a multi-faceted issue involving human trafficking, cyber fraud, and cryptocurrency-related scams, with ongoing efforts by Indian and other authorities to combat these criminal activities.