> "To put this into context, the scam center industry in Cambodia is estimated to generate over $12.5 billion annually – in other words, around half the country's GDP,"
Commercialisation of criminal activity is a massive growth industry.
I'm unsure how high-trust societies will be able to defend against invisible puppet-masters finding local defectors that will (a) rip off locals, (b) be the scapegoat.
My friend woke up the other day to someone grinding to steal copper. Defectors don't need expensive payoffs - just a few dollars (and are best paid illegally e.g. Meth anonymously via gangs?).
Perfect a scam in country A, then deploy it to country B (say New Zealand which relies on high-trust cooperator good citizens to function, and where the majority of people have no immunity against criminals - trust is a learnt behaviour here and many people can't detect the untrustworthy).
laardaninst•6mo ago
I have found a debt entrapment scam at the city center of a major European capital, being run inside a notable and ostensibly fair trade company.
It was kind of crude, just by reading terms of services and contracts on offer it jumps out of the pages. But I also saw someone start there accepting and signing and going along with everything with minimal thought. Did not read anything, clicked through everything and walked right into the trap. I feel bad for them but the scammers are clever enough to establish plausible deniability. Short of an official investigation with interrogations and subpoenas I don't think anything will change.
Beware out there people. Read everything very carefully, if anyone or any organization requires you to use any website or app, read the terms of service carefully.
robocat•6mo ago
Commercialisation of criminal activity is a massive growth industry.
I'm unsure how high-trust societies will be able to defend against invisible puppet-masters finding local defectors that will (a) rip off locals, (b) be the scapegoat.
My friend woke up the other day to someone grinding to steal copper. Defectors don't need expensive payoffs - just a few dollars (and are best paid illegally e.g. Meth anonymously via gangs?).
Perfect a scam in country A, then deploy it to country B (say New Zealand which relies on high-trust cooperator good citizens to function, and where the majority of people have no immunity against criminals - trust is a learnt behaviour here and many people can't detect the untrustworthy).
laardaninst•6mo ago
It was kind of crude, just by reading terms of services and contracts on offer it jumps out of the pages. But I also saw someone start there accepting and signing and going along with everything with minimal thought. Did not read anything, clicked through everything and walked right into the trap. I feel bad for them but the scammers are clever enough to establish plausible deniability. Short of an official investigation with interrogations and subpoenas I don't think anything will change.
Beware out there people. Read everything very carefully, if anyone or any organization requires you to use any website or app, read the terms of service carefully.