• New agreement will boost intelligence sharing between UK and Cambodian law enforcement to dismantle scam operations
  • UK will provide training and support to Cambodian authorities to investigate and take down the scam centres targeting the British public
  • Comes following sanctions on Southeast Asian scam centres in October and the launch of the INTERPOL Global Fraud Taskforce, chiefly supported by the UK

The British public will be better protected from online scams as a new agreement is signed between the UK and Cambodian governments. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on 23 September, will for the first time enable joint working between the UK and Cambodia to tackle networks of illegal scam centres.

Scam centres are places where fraud is scripted and scaled to target thousands of victims at once. They deploy sophisticated tactics to lure victims into handing over cash, including through fake romantic relationships. Many are based out of Southeast Asia which has emerged as one of the world's biggest hubs for scam centres.

They deploy sophisticated tactics to lure victims into handing over cash, including through fake romantic relationships. Those conducting the scams are often trafficked foreign nationals, trapped and forced to carry out the fraud under threat of torture. Under the agreement, the UK and Cambodian authorities will increase data sharing, coordinate activity against the criminal gangs, bring perpetrators to justice and ensure victims of trafficking receive the support they need.

This agreement comes following the joint UK and US sanctions against a network that operates illegal scam centres across Southeast Asia in October. This resulted in millions of pounds in UK-based properties being frozen. The new MoU builds on the launch of the government’s Fraud Strategy, which established a new Online Crime Centre, uniting government, police, intelligence agencies, banks and tech firms to ramp up the disruption of fraudsters.

Backed by £250 million, the strategy sets out how the government will make the UK the hardest place for fraudsters to operate, as one in fourteen adults and one in four businesses have become victims.