This episode, we investigate the online scamming industry that is plaguing Southeast Asia -- particularly Thailand. The Chinese underworld is trafficking people into Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos and forcing them to swindle victims young and old. And it's gotten much worse since the pandemic began, with Thailand's scam calls jumping 270%.

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After host Waj Khan opens the show, we hear from a Thai scammer who was held against his will for six months (04:42). Next, Alice French explains why scams increased during the pandemic in her Tokyo Dispatch (07:43). And finally, Monica Hunter-Hart interviews Dominic Faulder, the reporter behind the "scamdemic" investigation, with details about how the scam gangs operate, how different countries are responding, and what can be done to solve the problem (10:25). Asia Stream is hosted by Wajahat S. Khan, our digital editor and executive producer, and produced by Monica Hunter-Hart and Alice French.

Related to this episode:

Asia's scamdemic: How COVID-19 supercharged online crime, by Dominic Faulder

Cyber slavery: inside Cambodia's online scam gangs, by Shaun Turton