In the first two weeks of March, two young Indonesian women died alone in a hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The first, identified as 22-year-old Susi Yanti Br. Sinaga, died following a critical illness despite having no prior health conditions. Her family stated Susi left Indonesia in December 2025 with her boyfriend, promised a job in Malaysia, but was trafficked into a scam compound in Cambodia, leading to her death within three months.
The second woman, a 20-year-old shopkeeper from Pekanbaru, Riau province, arrived in Cambodia under similar circumstances and died days after Susi. NGO sources assisting her indicated her death was linked to physical and sexual abuse suffered in the compound. These women are among thousands of young people stranded in Cambodia recently, after leaving scam compounds anticipating police raids.
Many who have reached the Cambodian capital are Indonesian. They began lining up outside the Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh in mid-January, seeking assistance to return home. By March 9, the embassy reported over 5,400 requests for assistance from Indonesian citizens in less than three months, with over 1,800 repatriated. Most others are housed in a dedicated facility awaiting departure.
These figures represent a sharp increase from 2025, highlighting the scale of trafficking of young Indonesians into “scam factories” across Southeast Asia, primarily in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines. This situation is a complex structural problem, influenced by regional labor precarity and weak regulation. However, Indonesia’s role as victims, operators, and stakeholders within this industry is largely overlooked in existing media coverage.
Why Young Indonesians Enter the Industry
In March last year, the Indonesian government, with Thai government assistance, rescued and repatriated 569 citizens from online scam compounds in Myanmar. This event drew national attention, prompting urgent questions about how and why so many young people are lured into this work. Spurred by limited employment opportunities, low wages, and political discontent, Indonesian youths have been leaving the country in large numbers.
Some enter the scam economy willingly, while others go voluntarily but become trapped. Many more are deceived from the outset, lured into becoming “cyber slaves.” Familiar stories emerge from rescued trafficking victims: most are recruited through friend referrals or fake social media job offers. Upon arrival, they are abducted and trafficked into scam compounds, their passports confiscated. They are informed they owe substantial fees for flights, visas, accommodation, or training, and must work to repay this debt.
Some victims eventually rise to become scam operators, supervisors, or recruiters, luring other Indonesians, often friends or family, into the industry. NGOs note that progression often involves coercion and debt bondage, compelling individuals to recruit others to repay imposed debts, avoid punishment, or secure better living conditions. These dynamics blur the lines between victim and perpetrator, contributing to the criminalization of trafficked individuals who should be recognized and protected as victims of modern slavery.
Escaped From Slavery, Greeted as Suspects
In Indonesia, public discourse often frames those in scam compounds as either criminals or gullible individuals who fell for false promises. Following the mass repatriation of Indonesian nationals from Myanmar scam centers last year, returnees were detained and questioned before release, processed through law enforcement rather than victim support mechanisms. Indonesian police also noted some returning citizens refused repatriation due to earnings as scammers.
Those recently emerging from Cambodian scam compounds are even more likely to be perceived as willing perpetrators. Cambodia’s growing reputation as a regional hub for cybercrime fosters an assumption that Indonesians traveling there are aware of the work awaiting them. Recent news coverage highlighting the large number of Indonesians in Cambodia’s online industries has further entrenched this narrative, casting them as complicit actors scamming fellow citizens.
In the wake of reports on recent Cambodian raids, some government officials have called for returnees to face criminal prosecution under Indonesian law. On social media, popular commentators have argued that Indonesian scam workers should not be repatriated and some have even called for them to be stripped of their citizenship.
Who Benefits From Blaming Trafficked Workers?
Framing returnees as potential criminals is politically convenient but counterproductive, discouraging victims from seeking help from authorities. It also hinders civil society organizations, already underfunded, from mobilizing support for these young Indonesians. This ultimately benefits traffickers and industry operators.
This narrative also obscures the involvement of Indonesians at all levels of the scam industry, from recruiters and transnational operational staff to elites with financial stakes. The persistent focus on criminalizing trafficked workers diverts attention from the deeper structures of deception and exploitation underpinning the industry. With youth unemployment remaining high in Indonesia, this issue persists. Until trafficked workers are treated as victims rather than criminals, and the structures feeding this industry are addressed, vulnerable young people like Susi and the woman from Pekanbaru will continue to bear the cost.
Fonte: The Conversation
