A job scam ring that targeted Vietnamese seekers of ‘easy jobs that pay well’ in Cambodia was found to be led by Chinese, according to the Vietnamese criminal police agency.

The Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Police Department released the discovery on Monday, adding that the Chinese ringleaders were aided by a number of Vietnamese in Cambodia.

The department also warned that many Vietnamese jobseekers were recently victimized by the job scam.

These victims, aged 18 to 35, were cheated by those who belonged to the ring that deceitfully advertised 'easy jobs with high pay' in Cambodia on social media, such as Zalo and Facebook, to lure their prey.

After arriving in Cambodia, these Vietnamese jobseekers were forced to work for swindling gangs in online gambling, virtual money trading, and other illegal tasks in cyberspace, police said.

Many victims were forced to work for 12 to 16 hours per day while being banned from leaving their workplace and having their personal possessions appropriated.

Meanwhile, many others were sold to other employers to do heavy and unlawful jobs. 

They were even compelled to call their families in Vietnam to pay ransoms, ranging from US$3,000 to $30,000, for their repatriation, the department said. 

Many victims who failed in fleeing from their workplace were beaten, mistreated or sold to other labor abusers, the agency added.

Cambodian establishments that abused Vietnamese laborers and appropriated their property are found mainly in the cities of Bavet, Poipet and Sihanoukville of the provinces of Svay Rieng, Banteay Meanchay, and Preah Sihanouk, respectively.

They were also recorded in Chrey Thom District of Kandan City, and even in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

In the first six months of 2022, Vietnamese task forces joined hands with their Cambodian counterparts in rescuing more than 250 people who had been tricked into illegally working in Cambodia.

Many Vietnamese citizens have illicitly left Vietnam for Cambodia to work at online gambling establishments, work as forced laborers or have their assets appropriated, the department said.

The agency advised that people be highly wary of 'easy jobs that pay well’ advertisements posted on social media to protect themselves from being victimized by fraud gangs. 

Before accepting any overseas job offer, jobseekers should carefully learn about every relevant detail, including the employer, job, workplace, wage and more, the agency recommended.

They should also consult their families or relatives and inform them of their future job and workplace before deciding to leave Vietnam to work overseas.

Any person or organization showing signs of duping people into going to Cambodia for work should be reported to police, the agency requested.

Recently, a group of Vietnamese people managed to rescue a 17-year-old boy from southern Vietnam more than three months after he was sold to Cambodia and forced to work for a Chinese online gambling racket.

After negotiations, the group paid the Chinese racket $4,000 to set C. free and take him to Vietnam on June 30.   

The rescue was made after the group learned about the job scam from an article published in Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in mid-June. 

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