Online Scammers Cost Cambodians RM176 Mln Last Year 

PHNOM PENH, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- Cambodian citizens lost more than RM176 million (US$45 million) to domestic online scams in 2025, with some victims coerced into sharing explicit content that was then used to blackmail them.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha on Tuesday said several victims had taken their own lives under the strain of digital extortion, according to the state media Agence Kampuchea Presse. 

According to the minister, less than RM78 million (US$20 million) of the scammed money was recovered, while the remainder could not be traced due to the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by scammers.

“The shame and embarrassment associated with these crimes have had fatal consequences in Cambodia,” Sokha said at the launching of a nationwide campaign “Safer Internet Day 2026”, held at the Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh.

The minister also highlighted that that there was an increase in bank impersonation scams, where fraudsters trick victims into transferring money by falsely claiming they have won prizes.

His disclosure comes as the Cambodian government steps up security operations to weed out cyber scams and online illegal gambling nationwide since last year. 

Many are allegedly operated by international crime syndicates and manned by young job seekers from Southeast Asia and South Asian countries.

Cambodian authorities deported more than 3,300 foreigners in the first week of February after launching a nationwide campaign, “XXL Operation” to eradicate the scourge.

The government took another key step this week to stem the proliferation of cybercrime by approving the draft of an anti-cyber scam law. 

This week, the government approved a draft anti-cyber scam law aimed at strengthening the legal framework to combat online fraud — a crime that has drawn global scrutiny and tarnished Cambodia’s international reputation.

-- BERNAMA