Recently, there have been numerous cases of Taiwanese people being tricked into going to Cambodia and having restrictions on personal freedom imposed. The tactics used are often to lure victims to work in "text customer service" and "gaming backend service" jobs. Many young people are attracted by high salaries and are tricked into leaving Taiwan to take on the advertised job opportunities.
The International Criminal Affairs Division of the Criminal Police Bureau (CIB) investigated human trafficking cases and identified the use by human smuggling syndicates of Facebook group "Temporary Work" (臨時工) to ostensibly advertise electrician jobs with high salaries of NT$5,100 per day, but in fact attempted to lure Taiwanese nationals to Cambodia to engage in illicit activities such as scam schemes in Sihanoukville. On the morning of July 20, officers from the International Criminal Affairs Division of the CIB proceeded to Taoyuan International Airport and identified a group of six people consisting of brothers, a mother and son and friends at the check-in counter, three of whom were first-time overseas travelers and looked slightly uneasy. After the officers checked the identity of the passengers and took them to the office of the Security and Patrol Brigade of the Aviation Police Bureau for a further discussions, CIB officers found out that the six people had never met the recruiter in person and did not have any work contract or insurance, but received one-way tickets to Sihanoukville, Cambodia booked by the recruiter after only several online chats. After the officers brought up previous cases of Taiwanese nationals being detained and beaten in Cambodia, the six people suddenly came to their senses and told the police that they had not thought it through and thanked them for their timely help.
The CIB hereby urges the public to be aware that human smuggling syndicates can make profits simply by sending people abroad. Criminal groups have changed the conventional way of recruiting by advertising "customer service in gaming industry" and have extended their tentacles to the introduction of overseas jobs in various industries. The summer vacation is also a peak job hunting season, students who have just left school should be more vigilant when seeking jobs online to avoid becoming a target of human trafficking.