New Delhi– The Indian Embassy in Cambodia has rescued 1167 Indians trapped in cyber scams during the last three years. The Ministry of External Affairs frequently issues advisories about fake job rackets through social media platforms and media briefings. This was said by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha when CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar asked a question about the increasing cases of cyber scams trapping Indians in Cambodia.
Responding, the External Affairs Minister said that it has come to the notice of the Central Government that dubious firms involved in fake recruitment job offers have trapped Indian citizens in South-East Asian countries including Cambodia mostly through social media channels and forced them to carry out cyber crime and other illegal activities from scam centers operating in these countries.
Dr. Jaishankar in his response acknowledged the fact that there has been an increase in cases of cyber scams. In these cases, Indian citizens were lured out of India by promising them genuine jobs, but then they were forced to commit cyber crimes. The Foreign Minister further said that our embassy in Cambodia is alert and is actively monitoring the situation. The Indian Embassy in Cambodia has also issued an advisory for this. The Ministry of External Affairs has helped in rescuing 1167 Indian citizens.
He said that if a case of an Indian citizen comes to light, the embassy responds immediately and takes appropriate action to register a case with the local police. Apart from this, the Indian Mission issues travel documents, helps them contact their family in India and maintains coordination till their rescue and final repatriation to India.
Dr. Jaishankar said that the necessary information about the fraudulent agencies and agents has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the state governments. There are several channels through which the government has disseminated information regarding the increase in such cyber scams, including the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (14C) and the social media accounts of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Giving details of the number of Indians rescued and brought back from such scams, the MEA said 44 citizens were rescued in 2022, 207 in 2023 and 916 so far in 2024, according to a statement from the MEA.
(Report– Shashwat Tiwari)
