Scam Haven: Responding to Surging Cybercrime in Myanmar

This report by Myanmar Scam Watch investigates the rise of transnational organized crime, human trafficking, and cyber fraud in post-coup Myanmar. Drawing on field research, interviews, and open-source data, it shows how Myanmar’s $37 billion illicit economy continues to expand despite repeated crackdowns.

Often enabled by the State Administration Council (SAC) and its allies, criminal networks have become more decentralized, adaptive, and deeply embedded in the region. The study details how thousands of victims—particularly women, girls, and young people from Myanmar—are lured, coerced, or trafficked into scam compounds under conditions of desperation and deception. It also documents how weak law enforcement, inadequate victim protection, and official complicity have allowed these abuses to persist.

The report concludes with urgent recommendations for governments, donors, and law enforcement to adopt more coordinated, trauma-informed, and victim-centred responses.

Watch a short video spotlighting this research:

Listen to one of the authors of Scam Haven describing their groundbreaking research on Myanmar’s scam compounds:

This study is part of the Myanmar Digital Research series published by Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) with support from International Development Research Centre and The SecDev Foundation.