Fri, 29 Mar 2024 Today's Paper

Sri Lankan graduates lured to work in online dating scams in Laos

By

8 February 2023 12:10 am - 12     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A A A

 

  • With access to hacking software and improved translation software, the scammers, who are themselves victims, target American citizens above the age of 37 by creating fake profiles on largely used US dating apps such as Hinge, Boo, Tinder and POF.com
  • The victims were from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and African countries, including Ethiopia, South Africa, Uganda, Madagascar and Rwanda

 

The ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka had hampered his marketing job and thus, when he heard he could earn US$1,000 a month at an IT job in Thailand, he jumped at the chance. Little did he know that his job would be to flirt with well-to-do Americans online in an organised crypto-currency scamming network handled by East Asian syndicates in Laos.

“By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to flee,” said Jay*, a marketer by profession. He is one of nearly 100 young Sri Lankan graduates, mostly men, lured to work in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos.


Operating from self-contained condominium compounds with access to hacking software and improved translation software, the scammers, who are themselves victims, target American citizens above the age of 37 by creating fake profiles on largely used US dating apps such as Hinge, Boo, Tinder and POF.com.


After spending days and sometimes even weeks, winning their ‘trust and love,’ leading to increased intimacy and heightened emotions, the scammers would convince victims to pour out money into a crypto coin called Tether, other bogus investment platforms or gambling sites.


“All the little bosses we report to are Chinese. But no one knows who the big boss is,” Jay said, describing himself as being at the bottom of a shadowy, seemingly endless chain of command involving members like himself, small team leaders, big team leaders, supervisors and country leaders. 

Poverty has driven many to seek ostensibly well-paying jobs in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The victims were from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and African countries, including Ethiopia, South Africa, Uganda, Madagascar and Rwanda.

Falling prey

Jay described how he ended up at what he termed as the ‘sin city’. After being duped by a Sri Lankan friend, Jay in his search of greener pastures, flew to Bangkok in mid-December 2022 with a 3-month Thai tourist visa, clearly aware that employment opportunities were doubtful. His Sri Lankan friend, also a victim of the racket, received a commission of US$ 500 for setting Jay up. He assured Jay that the work visa will be sorted out. But, it never did.


It is no secret that when some people get their passports stamped with tourist visas, the main objective is not to do sightseeing, but to look for jobs. Despite repeated warnings by the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB), an increasing number of unskilled and even skilled Sri Lankans are found to be misusing the tourist visa facility to travel to foreign countries and more often than not end up falling prey to human trafficking networks. In 2022, Sri Lanka saw 311,269 people leaving the country – the highest number ever known to do so. Jay is just one of the many thousands.


After being picked up from Bangkok International Airport by two individuals, Jay was taken to a 3-star hotel called Jazzotel, 25 km from the airport -- to stay until his travel documents to Laos were sorted out. However, even at this point, he had no idea what his job entailed, who his employer was or where he would be working. “It was when I received no clear response every time I asked about the job that I got the feeling that something fishy was going on,” Jay said.

During the two-day stay at the hotel, he met another young Sri Lankan engineer, a Pakistani and an Ethiopian, who were also there for the same purpose. They were guided along each step of the journey by the organisers via Whatsapp. None of them knew what was awaiting them.


Two days later, the four of them were taken to their intended destination, the Golden Triangle in Tonpheung -- a riverside district known as ‘Little China’ in the Bokeo Province, Laos. They took a domestic flight from the Bangkok International Airport to Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport from where two others including their team leader Roo* picked them up and accompanied them to the border.


Then they crossed the Mekong River into Laos in a speed boat and later the East Asian team leaders escorted them to a condominium compound. Notably, Immigration officials at both the exiting point in Thailand and entry point into Laos neither stopped nor questioned them. “The team leaders seemed to be well acquainted with the immigration officials. It was a smooth process with our passports being stamped with the Laos visit visa,” Jay said.
The condominium consisted of newly-built dormitories, a supermarket, canteen, tennis court, badminton court, basketball court and even spas, all catering to the needs of the scammers. Jay soon learnt that he was a victim of an organised human trafficking network, which had ensnared hundreds of other young, educated men and women with nearly all of them having a university degree.


Thereafter Jay and the others had their passports taken away; they were given new names, eight iPhones with apple licenses, eight Sim cards and recharge cards. They were then asked to install dating apps -- Hinge in three phones, Boo in two phones, social media apps such as Telegram, TextMe, and WhatsApp on two of the other phones and use the remaining phone strictly for official communication purposes. “We were given instructions to find photos of good-looking, rich, travel-loving individuals on Instagram to be used for our fake profiles on the dating apps,” Jay said.

 

Flirt and scam

Although, it was impossible to believe that a person would palm out a large sum of money to someone they had never met; the grooming techniques adapted by these scam networks were very powerful in softening the victim. Earlier media reports said scammers used modern psychological tricks at the early stages of the ploy to establish deep-seated connection with potential victims.


Jay was asked to pose as a young woman, with the intention of targeting men over the age of 37 in the United States. He found a profile of a Turkish girl that matched the team leader’s requirements after scouring Instagram for images of attractive girls. Different photos of the girl’s photos were used to create three different profiles on Hinge, using three different locations in the US.


“Think like a woman. Show some attitude,” Jay was instructed. The scammers were instructed on how to sweet-talk the victims and inquire about their hobbies, beliefs and day-to-day routine. “Our job was to gain their trust and make them fall in love with us. Our daily target was to obtain five telephone numbers. Then, our tech experts gave us phone numbers in the US to text the victims via the TextMe app,” Jay said as he continued to describe what his job entailed.

The next and final step of the scammer’s task was to convince the victims to install the Telegram app, which was not largely used in the US, saying they travelled outside the country for short periods of time and would love to continue communicating with them.

Planting the idea of “healthy investment” starts early. When sharing each other’s hobbies, the scammer says, “travelling, listening to music, reading, spending time with friends AND investment.” Then, when the victims ask, “What are you doing now?” the scammer says that he is reading, showing a photo of a book on crypto currency. These occur over time as trust and emotional connections deepen.


Jay said as soon as the process comes to the stage where the victim is finally convinced to install Telegram, the team leaders take over. It was not easy for Jay, who claimed to have been struggling with guilt feelings since the start of this job.

“I felt disgusted, when I came to realise what I was involved in. I did not want to die at their hands and was aware that resistance was futile,” he said and added that those who resisted had to pay a high price. “When they fail to meet the daily targets, they are forced to work for 20 hours a day, while some of them were even meted out physical punishment, such as 100 squats, 100 push-ups and even electric shocks.”


In the presence of Jay, a Bangladeshi, who raised his voice to a team leader, was electrocuted. Feeling utterly disappointed and hopeless, another Human Resources graduate from Bangladesh attempted suicide by jumping off the condominium. Fortunately, he was stopped by others.

Jay said there were a few Sri Lankans known to be the best scammers, with the most number of duped victims. However, Jay and his team did not receive the promised salary as they failed to lure a sufficient number of victims online. When the Chinese team leaders started using physical punishment, Jay and a group of scammers, including two Sri Lankans, protested by not reporting to work.


That meant having to pay a higher price. They were all fired at once. Jay and the others – a group of 16 young men, including three from Sri Lanka – are currently without any salary or funds to buy a ticket to return home. But they have no intention of doing so either. “We have been asked to pack our things and leave the condominium. Even if I find the money to buy a plane ticket, I cannot go back home empty handed,” Jay said.

This group is currently planning to join another scamming network operating within the Golden Triangle targetting Australians. It is unfortunate that young and educated Sri Lankans like Jay, knowing how unsafe and uncertain their jobs and even their lives are, are not willing to return to their Motherland, which they believe provides no viable opportunities for youth.

Sri Lankan agents

Despite the fact that Jay was duped by a close friend, there is an organized group of Sri Lankans involved in sending citizens along the human trafficking pipeline to Laos. While one group is based in Laos, those staying in the same apartment compound are responsible for handling the Sri Lankans there. Another group is based in Sri Lanka and they approach individuals, brainwash them, prepare their travel documents and drop them at the airport.

Jay is of the view that some Sri Lankans have returned home after their families paid for the tickets or found money to do so, but many are afraid to share their experiences for fear of risking their lives.


Meanwhile, last Monday (Feb. 6, 2023), the Special Investigation Division of the SLFEB arrested an Ambanlanthota resident on charges of taking Sri Lankans to Laos on tourist visas promising to find them jobs in Thailand. He was produced in Court and remanded until February 20. Efforts were also being made to nab another man who fled during the raid. Reports say the main suspect had allegedly defrauded the victims of nearly Rs.1.9 million.


SLFEB spokesman Gamini Senerath Yapa advised Sri Lankans to desist from seeking foreign employment through questionable channels. “Do not trust agents. Do not even trust your so-called friends. Make sure you first secure a valid employment visa if you plan to work overseas. If you misuse your tourist visa, you will face dire consequences depending on where you are from and who you are with.”

Tip of the iceberg

 

The Golden Triangle, which spans a land area of 10,000-hectares is located in northwest Laos. It is effectively run by Chinese national Zhao Wei, who owns Kings Resort Casino. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, speaking to Laos media recently said, “The Golden Triangle is one of the most prolific and notorious economic zones and Zhao Wei and his group are clearly well financed and able to move money despite sanctions”.


The United States government, in its 2022 ‘Trafficking in Persons Report’ said, “Victim protection services were disproportionately unavailable in Laos to male victims of trafficking and anti-trafficking awareness and capacity among border officials in key transit areas remain low despite ongoing government training initiatives”.

Special Economic Zones are business parks or cities that have been granted exemptions from most national-level economic regulations. They often enjoy tax breaks, different labour laws, special visa rights, import and export exemptions and streamlined regulations. There are more than 7,500 SEZs in 100 countries worldwide.

*Names have been changed due to security reasons


Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka

  Comments - 12

Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka
  • Pathirana Wednesday, 08 February 2023 05:01 PM

    I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST READ.

    Violence to break free would be fine in these circumstances. Wednesday, 08 February 2023 05:26 PM

    The male graduates could suffer a lot more. They could be used as sex toys for visiting perverts. Women have frequently been sex trafficked, so the suffering of these people stuck doing scams while very bad for them, could be a lot lot worse. Also their not banding together and fighting out and breaking out is concerning. If they are held prisoners, who scam others, so knowing exploited to do wrong, they must resort to violence to break free.

    They were ejected as soon as they did not turn up to work. Wednesday, 08 February 2023 06:36 PM

    As soon as they didn't turn up to work the boss fired them. Poor performance with criminal activity was one thing, not turning up at all was enough for them to be rejected from their so called forced labour. Their criminal bosses probably don't want be known as murderer. Also these young criminals after escaping first crime group willingly and knowing want to join another (and experienced crooks now).

    R. Kulathunga Wednesday, 08 February 2023 06:19 PM

    If degree holders acting like this, no wonder how our unskilled workers are getting duped in Middle East. Chilling report. Kudos to the writer!

    How to stop scam centre starting here after these peole come back Wednesday, 08 February 2023 06:33 PM

    These young criminals say they cannot go home empty handed. So even if our government was to provide free ticket, they are now so capable in scams they want to continue. The potential benefits of crime now drive them to continue on. Also if these scammer continue they will soon start up teams within Sri Lanka itself. In India the police are all paid off so they do not raid scam centres, even when addresses provided. That trend will happen here soon too. The sympathy the world has for people will vanish if Internet scams center start up here. There is much hate for Indian scammer online, and we don't need that put on us too.

    Those commiting crimes are criminals Thursday, 09 February 2023 08:27 AM

    Country that can't even tax to provide for poor citizens needs doesn't need to waste resources on criminals. These Sri Lankans are committing crimes when they defraud the Americans.

    Violence against their enslaves or be put in prison for their crimes later anyway Thursday, 09 February 2023 08:28 AM

    These trapped persons must resort to fighting their way out. They would be prosecuted in the Western countries if they are found. Best they can do is become violent and kill all in their paths to escape. In the west such bold undertaking when forced to do crimes from the slave master would be fine.

    Adwani Thursday, 09 February 2023 08:28 AM

    To get lured, first of all, it is the result of our stolen reserves of USD by our so called Lions who pretended to be war winners, when the reality was totally hidden from the masses.

    Shera Thursday, 09 February 2023 08:29 AM

    They are criminals not victims. They went in with their eyes open. Whatever they brought upon themselves is their lot for scamming unsuspecting people. It is a shame to be even called a Sri Lankan anymore.

    Isuru Monday, 13 February 2023 06:03 AM

    This article is depicting a well organised criminal activity which is common with technology nowadays. It is the next level of "you have won a lottery" spam emails which we always receive. As I live in a Gulf country, I am well aware how many Sri Lankans come in search of jobs. Most of them are heavily in debt. So when they search for jobs, they are ready to do anything. They are hardly worried about the moral compass. It is impossible that a person would blindly give a passport to get a visa without knowing what is the job and salary. Most of these "Jays" are not victims, they are rather part of failed contestants in the foreign job hunt.

    Jothi Mama Thursday, 06 July 2023 03:39 AM

    What we can expect from a country without any law and order? 22 are taking Pin Padi and Pin benefits through the blood of poor people!

    Jehaan Sabampillai Saturday, 11 November 2023 06:14 PM

    Very sad. Thanks for sharing this, Piyumi.


Add comment

Comments will be edited (grammar, spelling and slang) and authorized at the discretion of Daily Mirror online. The website also has the right not to publish selected comments.

Reply To:

Name - Reply Comment





Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka

VAT increase: SOUNDs death knell for publishers, readers

Though the Government imposed VAT (Value Added Tax) on vegetables and other e

How female change-makers are driving Sri Lanka’s energy saving platform

Saving energy has become more of a responsibility than a habit in today’s c

A dull Ramadan awaits Muslims amidst the Soaring Cost of Living

In the coming days, Muslims across the world will welcome the Holy Month of R

New wildlife underpass to curtail HEC

As of February 2024, Sri Lanka lost another 38 elephants as a result of the H