India Losing Rs 1,000 Crore Monthly To Cyber Scams Run From Southeast Asia: Report

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has estimated that cyber scams from Southeast Asia are costing India nearly Rs 1,000 crore every month, reported The Indian Express.

Analysis shows that over half of the Rs 7,000 crore lost between January and May 2025 came from fraud networks in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) data reveals these scams are run from high-security compounds reportedly controlled by Chinese operators who force trafficked workers, including Indians, to carry out fraud.

“In January, Rs 1,192 crore was lost to Southeast Asia-based countries, Rs 951 crore in February, Rs 1,000 crore in March, Rs 731 crore in April and Rs 999 crore in May,” an official was quoted as saying.

Cambodian officials recently met Indian authorities in Delhi to make an action plan. “With the help of intelligence agencies and testimonies of rescued people, the Indian government has identified at least 45 such scam compounds in Cambodia, five in Laos, and one in Myanmar," a senior government official told IE.

"It also came to the fore that, apart from Indians, people from African countries, East Asia countries, Southeast Asia countries, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, Europe/North America and South America were also identified in these scam compounds,” he added.

Investigators uncovered three major fraud types: stock trading/investment scams, digital arrest, and task/investment-based scams.

The government also tracked agents recruiting Indians mainly in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, sending them via routes through Dubai, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and other hubs into Cambodia.

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