Southeast Asian scam compounds linked to rising sextortion cases among teens
New research suggests pig butchering hubs are also driving child exploitation schemes
The same Southeast Asian scam compounds notorious for running billion-dollar cryptocurrency and investment fraud schemes are now being linked to a surge in sextortion scams targeting children, according to new research released this week.
The International Justice Mission (IJM) said on August 19 that it had uncovered connections between financial sextortion of children and the region's scam compounds.
“The findings reveal a chilling potential convergence of sexual extortion of children and human trafficking, and IJM is calling for urgent action from law enforcement, tech companies, and global governments to investigate this emerging threat,” the group said in a statement.
Sextortion is a form of online blackmail in which sexual images are used to extort victims, usually for money. When children are targeted, it becomes a form of child sexual exploitation.
Reports to the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline have climbed to more than 800 cases per week as of 2023.
IJM’s study analysed nearly 500 reports of child sextortion that it identified through IP addresses and timestamps a likely tied to scam compounds in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
“This research indicates a likely convergence of two dark forms of exploitation – child sextortion and human trafficking – enabled by digital platforms and driven by profit,” said Eric Heintz, senior criminal analyst at IJM.
“Our research provides the first clear evidence of this likely link but to understand the true scale of the problem, there needs to be further urgent investigation.”
Scam compounds have already grown into a billion-dollar industry by running pig butchering and other scam operations.
The IJM report highlights high-risk locations for sextortion-linked activity, including KK Park, Shwe Kokko and Myawaddy in Myanmar, and Bavet, Sihanoukville, and Poipet in Cambodia.
While most cases appeared to involve adults, children as young as 12 were caught up in the scams.
Despite widespread knowledge of where many scam compounds are located, IJM said governments and tech companies have done little to shut them down. The group is calling for greater cross-border cooperation, data-sharing, and accountability for organised crime groups driving these schemes.
“This is likely just the tip of the iceberg,” Heintz said. “We urgently need more data sharing, better detection tools, and stronger international cooperation to uncover the full extent of this potential crisis.”
