Cambodia Boosts Cyber Scam Crackdown with FBI and Australian Federal Police Collaboration

Cambodia has agreed to strengthen cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to eradicate online scams. This was confirmed during separate meetings between high-ranking officials from both agencies and Mr. Keo Vannthoun, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior, on the sidelines of the recently concluded international conference on combating technological fraud. According to the Ministry of Interior, Commander Graeme Marshall, Head of the Cyber Security and Special Investigation Directorate of the AFP, expressed readiness to welcome delegations from the Cambodian Ministry of Interior to study the Joint Policing Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (JPC3), which has a similar role to the planned Online Scam Prevention Center of Cambodia, as announced by the Minister of Interior at the high-level forum of the international conference. Both Mr. Stephen Flores, Senior Operations Executive of the FBI, and Commander Graeme Marshall of the AFP agreed to continue strengthening cooperation with Cambodia through timely information exchange on priority crimes such as Online Scams and Cybercrime. In particular, they agreed to continue providing training to Cambodian national police officers to enhance their capabilities, either through training master trainers in the country or by inviting them for training in Australia or the United States. Both sides congratulated the Cambodian Ministry of Interior on the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding and the results of joint operations in investigating and cracking down on cryptocurrency scams and online extortion. During the meeting with the FBI, the results of IP address information exchange leading to the crackdown on over 50 scam locations were highlighted, and discussions were held on strengthening the prevention of identity theft of Cambodian citizens to open bank accounts or purchase SIM cards. The FBI pledged to continue providing opportunities for Cambodian national police officers to receive training at the FBI Academy to further enhance their capabilities. Mr. Keo Vannthoun added that they had agreed to promote timely exchange of secret information on priority crimes such as Online Scams, Cybercrime, drug trafficking, and money laundering. They also agreed on providing training courses to strengthen the capacity of Cambodian police to respond to the tactics of criminals who break into small groups to operate within communities, after major scam locations have been completely cleared by Cambodia. According to a report from the Ministry of Interior, from July 1, 2025, to August 28, 2026, Cambodia cracked down on a total of 832 scam locations (including 86 major ones), built 408 case files sent to the court, with 3,477 suspects currently detained. Administrative inspections and security patrols were conducted in over 38,169 locations, 22,142 foreigners (of 38 nationalities) were deported for violating the law, and assets totaling over $300 million related to criminal offenses were frozen.