Indians trapped in Cambodia are reportedly being forced to scam people back home (Representational)
The Centre has urged Indians, looking for work in Cambodia, to exercise caution when accepting any job opportunities and warned of false job advertisements and trafficking scams.
Indians are being "lured by fake promises of lucrative job opportunities in Cambodia" and "are falling into the trap of human traffickers", the Centre said in its advisory.
On Thursday, in its advisory for Indians looking to work in Cambodia, the Ministry of External Affairs, or the MEA, said that one must go through authorised agents only and thoroughly check the employers' backgrounds before migrating.
"It has come to attention that Indian nationals, lured by fake promises of lucrative job opportunities in Cambodia, are falling into the trap of human traffickers. These Indian nationals are coerced to undertake online financial scams and other illegal activities."
The MEA, through its mission in Phnom Penh, is working with Cambodian authorities to assist affected Indians, it said.
This comes days after reports claimed at least 5,000 Indians are being held against their will in Cambodia after being promised employment and are being forced to scam Indians back home by posing as law enforcement officials and catfish accounts on dating apps.
The sheer scale of the fraud - the Centre pegs the proceeds of crime generated over the past six months at a whopping Rs 500 crore - prompted the two countries to join forces to bring it all down.
So far, 250 Indians have been rescued and brought back to India by joint efforts of the MEA and Cambodian authorities, including 75 in the last three months.
The Indian Embassy is "promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.