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Digital crime organizations based in Southeast Asia are targeting young Koreans by advertising high-paying part-time jobs. They lure victims through sophisticated schemes that combine romance scams, voice phishing, and investment fraud, but because they operate through cell-like structures, some point out that investigative authorities have difficulty closing in on them.

According to the legal community on the 20th, these organizations recruit Koreans by posting high-paying part-time job advertisements on Telegram, Twitter, and online communities. Their targets are mainly men in their 20s and 30s, but women are also frequently recruited. The organizations promise to provide airfare, meals, and lodging in advance, while collecting a small deposit before departure.

Once recruits voluntarily leave Korea and arrive at the local destination, they are immediately assigned tasks. They are then placed into the execution stage of criminal organizations operating in the form of call centers, where they are involved in romance scams, voice phishing, fake investment schemes, and similar crimes. In particular, female operators are often used as voices for “romance scams.”

Although the organizations claim that recruits will be able to work freely, violence and confinement immediately follow if performance is poor. Chon Hyeong Hwan, Managing Partner at Mega-X Law Office, which operates a law office in Thailand, said, “These organizations are subdivided into roles such as ringleaders, team leaders, and operators, and if performance falls short, torture is inflicted.”

(Omitted)

Attorney Chon pointed out, “There is not just one or two criminal compounds in Cambodia.” He added, “As the belief spreads that they will not be caught, these crimes continue to be repeated. The reality is that it is difficult to stop the spread by cracking down only on cash withdrawal operatives.”

Source: EToday, Reporter Jeon A-hyun, “‘They Went as Perpetrators and Became Victims’… Southeast Asia-Based Digital Crime Rings Thrive on the Belief That ‘They Won’t Get Caught’ [Cambodia’s Warning],” October 21, 2025.
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