Cambodia: Phnom Penh Administration establishes Anti-Scam Task Force tasked with combating cyber-scams after reports of widespread scam operations
BHRRC Cambodia
"Phnom Penh Sets Up Anti-Scam Task Force Amid Rising Online Scams", 4 July 2025
Phnom Penh has established a special committee to crack down on online scams, following an order from Prime Minister Hun Manet.
…, the Phnom Penh Administration issued a decree to establish a committee to combat online scams, with Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng as chairman. The committee will be composed of one permanent deputy chairman, and several deputy chairmen and members.
…, Hun Manet instructed law enforcement agencies to strengthen efforts against online scams, stressing that the new Commission for Combating Online Scams is meant to complement—not replace—existing mechanisms, through coordinated action across relevant authorities.
The implementation of the anti-online scam measures will only be within the jurisdiction of Phnom Penh. The Technology Fraud Suppression Task Force is tasked with deploying the total force of the district administration unified command to implement technology fraud suppression from its base…
Touch Sokhak, spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, told … that the committee is tasked to clean up online scams, noting that “many cases have been suppressed”. However, to increase suppression, areas where there may be a concentration of such crimes should establish a committee to continue controlling and preventing the crime…
The number of people involved in cybercrime from former premier Hun Sen’s tenure is approximately 20,000, with around 200 people, representing approximately 11 nationalities, sent to court, Sokhak said…
A report by Amnesty identified 53 scamming compounds in 13 different areas – mostly borderlands and coasts – as well as 45 “suspicious locations” hosting such activities in Cambodia. The Cambodia Counter Trafficking in Persons Project estimated at least 350 scam compounds operating nationwide as of October 2024, exploiting an estimated 150,000 foreign workers.
According to a previous report by a UN expert, the scams are highly mobile and widespread, with centers in “Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh, Pailin, Anlong Veng, O’Smach, Kandal, Pursat, Koh Kong, Bavet, Chrey Thom, Kampot, Oddar Meanchey, Poipet, Banteay Meanchey, Svay Rieng, and within the Dara Sakor and Henge Thmorda Special Economic Zones”…