Cambodia targets end-April deadline to eradicate telecom fraud nationwide

 Authorities say a “zero-tolerance” campaign is accelerating ahead of an April cutoff, as raids and cross-border pressure disrupt scam hubs that have used casino and border-area infrastructure as cover.

Cambodia is stepping up a nationwide crackdown on telecom and online fraud, with officials reiterating a government goal to eliminate cyber-fraud networks by April 2026. Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak has repeated the April pledge in comments to international media amid growing regional attention on scam compounds operating near border crossings.

The deadline is tied to a broader “high-pressure” enforcement push: recent reporting describes how raids and security operations have forced criminal groups to abandon facilities, leaving behind evidence of industrial-scale operations, including staged “police office” rooms, scam scripts and target lists. Cambodia has said it is pursuing a sustained crackdown and rejects claims that action against these sites is being used as a pretext in regional disputes.

Local and regional industry reporting also points to an intensification on the ground. AGBrief reported that National Police Commissioner Sar Thet reaffirmed Prime Minister Hun Manet’s directive to eradicate telecom fraud, and cited figures (attributed to local media) claiming 190 suspected locations investigated and 2,508 arrests linked to telecom scams since the start of 2026, alongside a sharp rise in foreign nationals leaving the country during the crackdown. These figures should be treated as reported estimates unless confirmed through official public data releases.

Reuters, meanwhile, has described a broader exodus from scam compounds and the humanitarian dimension of trafficking-linked fraud hubs, reporting that pressure from raids and cross-border military action contributed to more than 100,000 people leaving compounds in recent weeks. The end-April target now puts an even brighter spotlight on enforcement consistency, accountability for any complicit officials, and whether Cambodia can sustain momentum beyond headline raids into lasting dismantling of the networks’ financing and recruitment pipelines.