Script reveals methods of Cambodian centre scamming Australians

The Thai military seized a Cambodian scam centre during an outbreak of conflict. (AP: Sakchai Lalit) Police in Australia and Thailand have released a script discovered in a Cambodian scam compound where a fake Australian Federal Police (AFP) office was found. The script reveals the pressure tactics used to convince people to hand over their bank details in scam calls. The AFP is urging people to be wary of scam calls and says it will never ask them to verify bank details. Link copiedShareShare articleAustralian and Thai police have revealed a script used by "highly organised and professional manipulators" impersonating police officers in calls to Australians from a Cambodian scam centre. Thailand's military alerted police to the document discovered in a scam compound near the Cambodia — Thailand border, which was also found housing a fake Australian Federal Police (AFP) set last year. The script reveals the high-pressure methods used to alarm and coerce targets into revealing their bank account details. It instructs scammers to identify themselves as an AFP officer and tell their target that a bank account had been opened with their identity by a "suspect" in a money laundering investigation. A mock AFP office was found in an O'Smach compound. (AP: Sakchai Lalit) "Your information was found linked to a bank card seized by the federal police in a recent investigation. Were you informed about this before?" the script begins. Scammers then take a recorded statement from the target through an encrypted video call and ask them to confirm whether they recognise a person presented as the money-laundering suspect, a process designed to make the call appear legitimate. They tell victims they cannot mention the investigation to "family, friends, coworkers, or anyone else", and to accept a confidentiality agreement. The scammers then ask victims for their bank account details and to send screenshots through the encrypted channel. "Accounts not confirmed by you may be blocked or confiscated," the scammer tells the target. The victim is then told to provide short updates about their whereabouts and any calls from unknown numbers every four hours, for their own safety. "Other people involved in similar cases have been threatened or had their phones stolen after they talked to others about the investigation," the script says. The AFP said scammers asked for regular updates to coerce victims into believing the matter was time-sensitive and required their compliance. Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) sent text messages to 300 people in February after the AFP identified their personal details in documents from the scam centre in O'Smach, Oddar Meanchey Province. Thai police are investigating the matter. Thai authorities last year discovered fake set-ups at the compound staged to resemble police agencies from several countries, including a mock-up AFP office using the agency's logo and Australian flags. Other sets at the scam centre resembled offices of police forces from China, Singapore, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The O'Smach compound had what appeared to be a mock-up set resembling a Chinese police station. (AP: Sakchai Lalit) After Thailand seized the compound during an outbreak of its border conflict with Cambodia, it opened it to the media and put the tactics of the multi-billion-dollar scam industry into public view. Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams in 2025, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Griffith University criminology researcher Hai Luong said scammers targeted people through their fear of legal repercussions and their tendency to obey authority figures. "Scammers frequently employ urgent threats, such as arrest or investigation, to induce panic and hinder rational thinking," he said. South-East Asian countries, including Cambodia, have become hubs for online scamming operations, often run from huge, fortified compounds. Human rights organisations report they are often staffed by foreigners lured with promises of legitimate work who are then forced to commit cybercrimes under threat of beatings and torture. The targets include people in English-speaking countries such as Australia and the United States, who are duped with promises of romance, high-earning investments or work. AFP Acting Superintendent Nuckhley Succar said offshore scam centres were "hives of activity" and often facilitated by serious organised criminal networks. Nuckhley Succar is urging people to be wary of potential scam calls. (ABC News: John Gunn) "Ones specifically targeting Australians are commonly found in Asian countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar," he said. The AFP said after launching Operation Firestorm in August 2024, it had worked with law enforcement agencies in five offshore scam centre investigations, leading to 560 arrests and disrupting 15 scam centres in South-East Asia targeting Australians

Script reveals methods of Cambodian centre scamming Australians

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