Huge online scam operations are flourishing in war-torn Myanmar – I travelled there to find out why

The town of Shwe Kokko in south-eastern Myanmar, which is widely recognised as hosting one of the country's most notorious scam centres. Naphatpixs / Shutterstock

South-east Asia has become the “ground zero” for the global online scamming industry, according to the UN, costing victims billions of US dollars each year. Scam operations are run by Chinese crime syndicates from fortified compounds in countries like Myanmar, which has been embroiled in a nationwide armed conflict since 2021.

The...