Stay safe › Scams
Fake jobs abroad and scam compounds
A well-paid "data entry" or IT job in Thailand or Dubai turns into forced scam work in Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos.
How it works
Recruiters on social media, or agents in your town, offer good salaries for simple jobs abroad, often in Thailand or Dubai. On arrival, people are taken across borders to compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos. Their passports are taken, and they’re forced to run online scams, such as fake trading and romance scams, against people in India and elsewhere. Those who refuse have been beaten.
The scale
In February 2026, the government told Parliament that 6,998 Indians had been rescued from cybercrime centres in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos between 2022 and 2025, and that the number still stranded is unknown. The Ministry of External Affairs has repeatedly warned people, especially young IT-skilled job seekers, against fake job offers in the region, and urged them to apply only through authorised agents.
The rule
If a job abroad sounds easy, pays very well and comes through an unknown agent or social media, check it with the Indian Embassy before you pay or travel.
If it has already happened
- If someone you know is trapped, contact the Indian Embassy in that country and the Ministry of External Affairs at once, with their location and passport details.
- Report the recruiter at cybercrime.gov.in and to your local police.
- Keep all chats, job letters and payment receipts.
Protect yourself
- Apply only through government-authorised recruiting agents and check the employer through the Indian Embassy.
- A tourist visa doesn't allow you to work. Never accept a job that asks you to travel on one.
- Tell family exactly where you're going and share your contacts and location.
Say it simply
If an online friend offers an easy job abroad, tell a grown-up. It may be a trap.
Before anyone in the family takes a job abroad, check the agent and employer with the Indian Embassy.
Where to report
- National Cyber Crime Reporting PortalFile a complaint about any cyber fraud, harassment, sextortion or morphed images.cybercrime.gov.in
- Local police or cyber cellFor threats, blackmail or large losses, file an FIR. Take your screenshots and transaction details.Emergency: 112