Cybercriminals from China hold thousands captive in Cambodia - Los Angeles Times

crazy fricking article

video of slaves escaping and jumping in the river

When no one responded, they tortured Rezky for three days and put him up for sale on a messaging app. Rezky, who was devoid of emotion as he flatly recounted his horror, said he saw photos of other captives on the app, including one bloodied man with several fingers severed.

noo you cant just sell me as a slave

One rainy July evening when security guards were distracted, Rezky fled the compound where he had been operating another scam — selling fake World Cup tickets — and made his way to the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh. It took him another month to get home.

It was after he was trafficked a second time that Soraton suffered his most significant trauma. He was working at a fictitious loan company that tricked customers into sending money by telling them it was the only way to access a larger loan. One victim, a middle-aged man from eastern Thailand who needed cash to pay for his mother’s medical care, called the office on video to plead for his life savings back.

When a supervisor refused, the man picked up a handgun, pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger.

Occasionally he’ll receive a spam call offering the latest scam.

“I tell them, ‘Don’t bother, I just made it back home,’” Soraton said. “Then they always ask me, ‘How did you escape?’”