Laos Dating App Scam: 47 Indians, Trapped And Working As 'Cyber Slaves', Rescued

This case comes amid several warnings from the Indian government regarding job offers sent from Laos and Cambodia. As of now, a total of 635 Indians, who had been scammed, have been rescued from the country.

In the latest incident, a total of 47 Indians were rescued. These Indians had been trapped in a cyber scam centre at the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Bokeo province.

As per the official statement from the embassy, 29 of these Indians have been handed over to the authorities after a crackdown on illegal activities in the Golden Triangle SEZ and 18 had approached the embassy seeking help.

"Embassy has undertaken and completed all procedural requirements of Lao authorities for their repatriation to India. Of these, 30 have already safely returned to India or are on their way, while the remaining 17 are only awaiting travel arrangements to be firmed up and will be leaving Laos PDR soon," read the official statement issued from Vientiane.

How Did These Indians Reach Laos?

While the exact reason is under investigation, it is assumed that these Indians were lured to Laos with the job offer. After arriving in the country, the fraudsters would seize their passports, trapping them in the country.

These Indians were then forced to work at cyber scam centres and partake in a dating app scam. During this, the India national were forced to pose as women on dating apps and social media and chat with potential targets.

As per some of the Indians rescued, they were forced to convince the target to invest in cryptocurrency trading, and then dupe them.

The Indian nationals were given daily targets at these scam centres, and then were punished if they failed to carry them out.