Experiencing the Escape from Myanmar's Cyberfraud Park: Ambassadors Who Can't Make Tombs in Movies | Myanmar | Movies

On August 22, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai held a trilateral meeting with Thai Ambassador to Myanmar Meng Kong and Lao Ambassador to Myanmar Heng Xian to communicate and coordinate on cooperation in combating gambling and fraud in the region.

For a period of time, telecommunications fraud in Myanmar has attracted high attention. "The risk is lower than drug trafficking, and the profit is higher than drug trafficking." How did telecommunications fraud become a black industry in northern Myanmar? What exactly is the real northern Myanmar like? Will being deceived really make you feel like you're being scammed?

The Governor of Chang'an Street invited Zhou Rong, a senior researcher at the Chongyang Financial Research Institute of Renmin University of China, and Xing Weilin, a first-hand witness to telecom fraud in Myanmar, to tell the story of "The Escape of Telecom Fraud in Myanmar" and walk into the real northern Myanmar during the program in the Governor's Reception Room.

What is "North Burma"

Chang'an Street Governor: Many people nowadays turn pale when it comes to the term "northern Myanmar". What exactly does the real northern Myanmar look like? Besides electronic fraud, what else is there in northern Myanmar?

Zhou Rong: Myanmar has a land area of over 670000 square kilometers and a population of over 50 million. It is a member country of ASEAN and also one of the ASEAN countries with relatively low per capita income and relative poverty.

Before World War II, Myanmar was part of British India and was occupied by Japan in 1942. Myanmar has 135 ethnic groups, with the main ethnic group being the Burmese, accounting for approximately half of the country's population. Myanmar borders five countries including Bangladesh, India, China, Laos, and Thailand, and all neighboring areas are ethnic minority areas of Myanmar.

"North Myanmar" includes northeast and northwest Myanmar. Northwest Myanmar is the border between Myanmar and India, and northeast Myanmar is the border between Myanmar and China. We refer to the area near the Myanmar China border more as North Myanmar.

The major state in the border area between Myanmar and China is called Shan State, which is divided into several special zones, one of which is called Wa State. Wa State borders some counties in Yunnan, China, and the border residents on both sides have no language barriers. In some areas of Wa state, there are areas where Chinese, Burmese, and Wa languages are shared, and people there can speak Mandarin. Many government documents in Wa State are still written in standard Chinese characters.

Wa State is not yet the most typical, and further north is Guogan State, which is known as the "descendants of the Han people in Yunnan". Why is it easy for telecommunications fraud targeting Chinese people to breed in these places? One of the important reasons is that these regions have formed large "Han cultural areas". This is also the uniqueness of northern Myanmar.

Geographically, northern Myanmar has a tropical climate, and is also located in an extension of the the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. With dense forests, mountains and rivers, it is easy to hide an institution here. Before the emergence of telecommunications fraud, there were already many criminal offenses in northern Myanmar, such as cultural relic smuggling, animal smuggling, drug trafficking, and so on. It can be said that the northern region of Myanmar harbors corruption and telecommunications fraud is a new type of crime.

"Tomb" with no burial period

For ordinary people, the term "telecommunications fraud" may seem distant, but in reality, everyone may have had some interaction with it. Sometimes it may disguise itself as a bait message, an advertisement in a video, or it may come unexpectedly when we travel. Xingweilin is an experienced member of a telecommunications fraud group. While abroad, he was deceived by the group and eventually escaped to Myanmar.

Xingweilin. Respondents provide pictures

Chang'an Street Magistrate: How did you get scammed into Myanmar at that time?

Xingweilin: I am a tourism worker. Last year, I received news about the lifting of restrictions in Thailand, so I was invited by so-called tourism colleagues to visit Thailand and learn about the itinerary of tourism routes. On September 21st last year, I left the country with my passport and landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand.

We need to deal with strangers frequently when traveling, so we didn't think much at that time. We couldn't resist the invitation of so-called "travel companions", so we got into their car, drank a bottle of water, and then fell asleep. When I woke up the next day, I had already arrived in Myanmar.

Chang'an Street Governor: Where have you been?

Xingweilin: The park I am in is not large. It is located at Pier 11 of Miaowadi, and there may be dozens of "companies" of all sizes, with about 1000 Chinese people inside. I work for a small "company" with about 30 people.

The "company" I was brought to does "domestic market", targeting women aged 30-50. 22 mobile phones were sent to me for me to do "dog push", which is a fraudulent online promotion.

I am required to "keep my account" every day, and there is WeChat on my phone. I need to find materials to post on my social media. Company HR will also give you a computer with two copies of information, one of which is your "packaging person", such as a wealthy and handsome person; One is your script, including how to chat with strangers on the first day and how to chat the next day. The entire process is complete and written like a script. He will give you 1-3 months of "study" and "account maintenance" time for everything. My over 20 mobile phones, from 10am to 12pm, should not be turned off or run out of battery, they should be kept on all the time.

At the beginning of each month, the "company" will give you an A4 paper with two numbers on it. One is the task for this month, and the other number needs to be filled in with your "compensation". The compensation for the person who bought it will be the same as the amount spent, and this number will increase month by month.

If the performance cannot be achieved, there will be several punishments. The first method is to have you repeatedly copy the language in the "training materials"; The second type is to run circles on the playground while holding a large bucket of mineral water during the hottest time of the day; The third way is to slap or use an electric stick; The fourth way is to close a small black room. The most serious thing is being sent to the military station as a boxing target, or being pulled with a belt. I once met a boy whose body was covered in marks of belt lashes.

This place is not as relaxed as portrayed in popular movies, nor are there seemingly humanized scenes. The living conditions cannot catch up with prison - it is more like a tomb with no burial deadline. At the company I worked for, there was a girl who was trapped for 3 years. She was the shortest, and the longest male stayed for 9 years without leaving the campus. Living in that environment for a long time, the fear in people's hearts is probably impossible to make any movies.

Xingweilin broke his right leg while fleeing, and a doctor in Myanmar injected him with painkillers. Respondents provide pictures

Chang'an Street Governor: How did you escape?

Xingweilin: When I first arrived, the "boss" smashed my phone and told me directly that "there is no one on the Miao Wa Di.". At that time, I made up my mind that the boss couldn't let me go, I must run away.

I have developed a habit of working in tourism, and when I walk into a "park", I will learn about the safety passages and other structures inside.

I got beaten three times inside because I didn't want to do this job. I failed my first escape. On the evening of my second escape, after being beaten for the third time, I arrived at the escape route that had been under investigation for over a month. Before dawn, I jumped out of the park from a height of more than 5 meters above the top floor of the cafeteria. This jump caused three fractures in my waist and legs, and my legs still ache when I walk.

But fortunately, I escaped, and after several twists and turns, I finally returned to my home country. In just over three months, I lost over 40 pounds.

During his escape, Xingweilin suffered multiple fractures and was subsequently treated and placed in a wheelchair. Respondents provide pictures

Three tips for preventing overseas fraud

From August 15th to 16th, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the Thai Police Headquarters, the Myanmar Police Headquarters, and the Lao Ministry of Public Security jointly held a special cooperation and crackdown on gambling fraud and related crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping, and illegal detention in Chiang Mai, Thailand. On August 22, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai held a trilateral meeting with the ambassadors of Thailand and Laos to Myanmar to communicate and coordinate on cooperation in combating gambling and fraud in the region.

Chang'an Street Governor: What difficulties are facing in cracking down on electricity fraud in northern Myanmar?

Zhou Rong: Telecommunications fraud crimes are relatively concentrated in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, etc. Myanmar is the most serious of them, which is closely related to Myanmar's politics, military, economy, etc.

From a political and military perspective, the ethnic and local armed forces in Myanmar are very dispersed, but very powerful. The Wa, Shan, Karen, Kachin, and Rakhine ethnic groups each have their own armed forces.

In the vast area of the Myanmar China border, less than 10% are controlled by the Myanmar government. In other words, most of the Myanmar areas bordering China are controlled by ethnic local armed forces. This makes it very difficult for us to take action to combat telecommunications fraud.

Many telecom fraud conglomerates exist in the form of so-called "industrial parks", which look like familiar industrial parks to the outside world. Scammers set up factories there and pay taxes. The enthusiasm of ethnic local armed groups to "clean up" these telecommunications fraud groups can be imagined.

Chang'an Street Governor: What aspects can we start from?

Zhou Rong: The key is to connect with overseas law enforcement. The ability of our public security officers is beyond doubt, but law enforcement in Myanmar requires the cooperation of the Myanmar government. On this basis, intelligence personnel can be developed to understand the situation of electronic fraud groups; Through the cooperation of the Myanmar government and engaging with some friendly ethnic and local armed groups, these are all bottleneck issues that need to be addressed.

Chang'an Street Governor: From the perspective of ordinary people, how can we raise awareness and prevent being deceived?

Xing Weilin: It is particularly important to note that when posting on social media or other videos, everyone must protect their personal information. Some "pig killing plates" start from here to find their targets.

When encountering suspected overseas fraudsters remotely, there are a few tips. Firstly, if you can make a video call to someone on the other end of the network, you must make a video confirmation; Secondly, ask him for an exact and real phone number; Thirdly, the other party should be able to share their location with you. If all three of these can be achieved, there is a high probability that the other party is not a fraudster.